UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



THE PLAY OF EACH POSITION TREATED 
BY A COLLEGE EXPERT 



edited/:by 

/ 

JAMES R. CHURCH 



WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF PLAYS 




, c sir 



COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



PREFACE 



The fact that there is so little connected 
writing on the subject of Foot-Ball has 
induced the editor to collect the views of 
some of the leading university players of 
the day and place them in book form. 

If they shall prove of interest to those 
skilled in the game, or an aid to those 
beginning it, he will feel repaid for his 
work. 

For the illustrations he is indebted to 
Mr. Philip King, Pach Brothers, Messrs. 
Gilbert & Bacon, and Mr. H. C. Smith. 



Garfield Memorial Hospital, 
Washington, D.C., 
July, 1893. 



CONTENTS 



Foot-Ball generally considered .... 

James R. Church 1 
The Wedge : its Development and Use . . 

W. M. Irvine, P. 15 

The End-Rusher . . , F, W. Halloivell, U. 35 

The Tackle .... Wallace C. Winter, Y. 41 

The Guard Hector W. Cowan, P. 51 

Centre-Rush W. J. George, P. 59 

Quarter-Back .... Edgar Allan Poe, P. 71 

Half-Back James P. Lee, H. 79 

Full-back W. T. Bull, Y. 91 

Training 103 

The Referee and Umpire 109 



Rules and Constitution 



113 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PORTRAITS 

OPP. PAGE 

W. M. Irvine 15 

F. W. Hallowell . . . . o 35 

Wallace C. Winter 41 

Hector W. Cowan 51 

W. J. George 59 

Edgar Allan Poe 71 

James P. Lee 79 

W. T. Bull 91 

ILLUSTRATIONS OF PLAYS 
Plate I. ''Play!" Frontispiece 

OPP. PAGE 

Plate II. Interference 6 

Plate III. The Wedge 18 

Plate TV . A Run around the End . . . 38 

Plate V. A Wedge on Tackle .... 44 

Plate YI. Putting the Ball in Play ... 66 

Plate YH. A Bun through the Line . . 82 

Plate YIII. After a Kick 100 



i 



UNIYEKSITY FOOT-BALL 



FOOT-BALL GENERALLY 
CONSIDERED 

By James R. Church 

As a nation with an English strain in its 
blood, we to-day show perhaps the effects of 
heredity, in our fondness, growing with each 
succeeding year, for out-door sports and train- 
ing ; and with such ancestors it seems natural 
that the national game of our British cousins 
should rank high in public favor. Like true 
" Yankees,'' however, with a tendency toward 
the betterment of an existent regime we have 
so far modified the Rugby foot-ball that lit- 
tle remains of the original game. Taking the 
English game as the starting-point, each suc- 
cessive crop of American university players 
has added to, and subtracted from it, until 
we may, save the first idea, claim originality 
for our system of play. 

Our foot-ball of to-day — that is, the Rugby 
1 



2 



UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



game — dates back to 1876 in this country, 
when the first game was played at New 
Haven. An association had been formed 
in England some five years previously, under 
a common ruling, and from this as a matrix 
sprang our intercollegiate game of to-day. 

The essential difference between the two 
systems now, as it was at first, is our system- 
atization of the play behind the line, of 
making the outlet from the scrimmage, or 
the snap-back a preconcerted arrangement, 
and involving certain men and certain duties. 
In the game as ^ first adopted here, the ball 
came out from no definite point, at no assigned 
time, being kicked out by some one of the 
opposing rushers and taken indefinitely by 
one of the backs. A little experience showed 
that it was good policy to allow the ball free 
motion instead of opposing the kick, and the 
further fact was soon demonstrated that a 
rusher could himself kick or snap the ball 
back and add to the chances of his own side. 

Here began the divergence of the two styles 
of play ; at first the modification was nat- 
urally crude, the duty of putting the ball in 
play devolving on no special one of the line, 
and the receiving back having no definite 



GEN EB ALLY CONSIDERED 3 



positional value. The line men had no as- 
signed positions, and the game was one of 
chance instead of the nicely balanced compe- 
tition of skill and trickery which marks a 
contest to-day. 

At our start in the sport the number of 
players was eleven ; after a year or two, for 
some unassignable reason, possibly as a pro- 
tective measure, the force was increased to 
fifteen, a move directly in opposition to the 
English policy, which had reduced the num- 
ber of players from tAventy to fifteen. No 
great time was necessary to demonstrate the 
inutility of the move, and the original com- 
plement was again returned to. 

The first game in 1876 was played without 
settled rules, and the confusion resulting 
demonstrated the necessity of a definite under- 
standing as t6 at least the fundamental points 
of the game ; before the next season a con- 
vention had met and drawn up a set of rules 
which have been the nucleus of the present 
laws. As in the case of all laws, the estab- 
lishment of any, brought out the possibility 
of evading the spirit without an absolute 
infringement, and the necessity of additions 
and corrections to check the evasion. This 



4 UNIYEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



was particularly evidenced in the notorious 
"block game," where before the necessity for 
a definite loss or gain, or a penalty, the side 
in possession could hold the ball for an indef- 
inite time. One large game under this style 
of play showed that to hold public interest 
something must be done to break up the 
''block" play. The five-yard gain or twenty- 
yard loss in three downs settled the question 
to the satisfaction both of the public and the 
players. 

The next point which disturbed the seren- 
ity of the authorities was that of interference, 
a most distinctively American feature of the 
game. Although a certain amount of this 
kind of play had been tacitly recognized, the 
growth of interference in the rush-line during 
a scrimmage brought forward the necessity of 
some kind of a limitation : when it came to 
such a pass that opposing rushers could hold 
each other, or impede the advance by joining 
arms, restricting laws were passed which 
denied to the side having the ball the use of 
hands and arms in interference. 

For a time much trouble arose from the 
fact that the referee was overburdened by 
his duties, and the two umpires, in reality 



GENERALLY CONSIDERED 



5 



field captains, whose duties were to make 
claims for their respective teams, added to 
his distraction by their constant calls and 
claims of foul. After their abolition, his 
duties were easier, but the patent fact re- 
mained that to have fair and clear rulings 
a further division of labor must be made. 
At this juncture the umpire was introduced, 
who relieved the referee of all care of fouls, 
and made him simply a judge of play, all 
other decisions being rendered by his con- 
frere. Even with this added force it is now 
sometimes questionable as to whether it 
would not be well to have touch judges 
as in the British game. 

The greatest point in the advance of the 
modern game has been the development of 
interference, which under its many forms 
really comes down to team play as its start- 
ing-point: the combination of eleven men, or 
a majority thereof, as against individual effort. 

Interference proper, in the advance of the 
ball, does not date back a great way in the 
history of the game, coming into prominence 
first about 1886. At that time it was gen- 
erally limited to the efforts of one man to 
aid a comrade, — a sort of crude tandem play. 



6 



UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



with no idea of the carefully studied and 
often brilliantly executed interference plays 
of to-day. 

As soon as it was seen that one man could 
be used to advantage as a fender, the lead- 
ing teams began to build up this system of 
advance, and the result is the unison of action, 
the correlation of players, which makes the 
interference of to-day. 

In order to understand how thoroughly 
this system is carried out now, we may cite 
a play in which the combined forces unite to 
advance, all the' strength concentrated on 
the focal point, the ball. 

Suppose we take a team lined up and 
under instructions for a run round the right 
end, by the left half-back. At the instant 
the ball is snapped, the full-back and ri^ht 
half start, shoulder to shoulder, ahead ot 
the runner, who follows well at their heels 
with the quarter-back beside him, next to 
the line (see Diagrams 1 and 2, page 12, and 
Plate II.): if the team plays the "box the 
tackle " ^ game, the quarter takes the un-' 

1 In ''boxing the tackle,'' the tackle and end of the 
offensive side combine against the opposing tackle, leav- 
ing the end on that side free. 



Plate II. 




GENERALLY CONSIDEREB 



7 



guarded end-rusher, and the left half goes 
on behind the protection of the right half 
and the full-back. Simultaneously with 
the starting of the quarter, the right guard 
Avheels and follows him, the other rushers 
to his left coming after, and the whole line 
excepting right-tackle and end, who are 
penning the opposing end, forms a moving 
w^all toward the objective point of the play, 
shutting off by their presence the attacks 
of would-be tacklers. 

The diagrams will serve to show the forma- 
tion both before and after the signal, as it 
should be theoretically. Of course no one 
given play can conform exactly to the ideal, 
but it is the close approximation of theory to 
practice, and the constant exertion to carry 
out a systematic line of play under given 
conditions, which brings out to its best de- 
velopment true interference. 

One common fault in green men in in- 
terference, is their liability, after they have 
fulfilled the primary duty in the play, to drop 
out of the play and string out in the back- 
ground. This should never be allowed, since 
a man may often get in as good secondary 
interference as primary; and if the play be 



8 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



checked, his weight at the back may count 
for the yard, the foot or the fraction which 
so often counts either a touch-down or a first 
down. 

In runs by the full-back, or around the 
other end, the same relative position of 
course exists, and just as much material is 
used to insure the success of the play. 

In runs through the line, say between 
right guard and tackle, by the left half- 
back, the right half and the full-back may 
be thrown through ahead as a break, the 
running half and the quarter following close 
in their wake, and the left guard coming in 
behind with their " beef " as a minor wedge- 
formation. 

The fundamental idea in all interference 
plays is essentially the one of a close forma- 
tion of players arranged after such an order 
as to render the man with the ball inaccessi- 
ble to his opponents : by just tso much as the 
players string out, by just so much as they 
are loose in their formation, slow in their start 
or running, by just that much do they detract 
from the object and efficacy of the play. 

A play once settled on should be rehearsed 
many times in practice, the men at first walk- 



GENERALLY CONSIDERED 



9 



ing from their places to the positions they are 
to occupy, and gradually increasing their 
speed until, with no opposing rush-line, they 
can go through the manoeuvre with speed and 
clock-like regularity. After system is ac- 
quired, the element of a line to contend 
against may be added, and the whole worked 
up until each individual knows just about 
what difficulties he will have to contend 
against, and has solved, to his own satisfac- 
tion, the way of overcoming them. Unless 
the team be drilled to quick play of this sort 
in practice, it can never attain to it in a 
game ; for it is a well-recognized fact that a 
captain can call upon his team for fast play 
up to the limit of that reached in practice, 
but beyond that he cannot go Avithout danger 
of misarrangement and confusion. It is 
better, far better, to expect moderately rapid 
work with system^ than fast play which savors 
of individuality and is confused. In no part 
of play is a " coach " so sorely needed as in 
the guidance of interference ; for be it ever so 
well planned, there is almost invariably some 
man who Avill lag at a certain point in his 
duties, and such a fault increases with its 
constant execution and is dispelled only by 



10 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



constant cussing from a lynx-eyed director, 
watching for fault rather than perfection. 

New as it is, interference has developed a 
variety of formations, a number of combina- 
tions of the eleven men participating therein : 
the examples quoted are only two of many, 
but with an understanding of the principle 
which underlies the whole system, any clear- 
headed captain can work out to his satisfac- 
tion those he wishes to use. 

To the average uninitiated spectator, a 
game of foot-ball looks like the veriest hurly- 
burly of chance alid main strength : were he 
told that the ball never left the hands of the 
quarter-back until its destination and the 
nature of the play to follow had been clearly 
announced to the entire team, he would smile 
with incredulity. Yet such is the case : the 
captain reigns over the seeming disorder and 
directs each advance in the channel w^hich 
seems most liable to yield a gain. 

As the other features of the game have 
been developed, the system of signalling has 
kept pace, until now the movements of a team 
in play are directed by a system in compari- 
son with which Poe's Cryptogram would be 
child's play. 



GENERALLY CONSIDERED 11 



At first phrase signals " were in use ; that 
is, a certain set of words standing for a cer- 
tain play : their easy comprehension, however, 
by the opponents led to their early abolition, 
and other sj^stems followed, each a little 
more difficult of interpretation. 

As an illustration of the later signals, one 
example will serve to show how they have 
been developed. During the past few years 
the letter " and number " signals have 
been in vogue, and the appended set is only 
one of the many possible combinations. 

In this case letters are used, and each run- 
ning man on the team is lettered, and each 
space also, as shown in the diagram. Next a 
" catch-letter " is chosen, being the key to the 
cipher. Suppose E is taken. In signalling by 
this system, any number of letters may be used 
to cloak the signal, and the ears of the team 
are open only for the catch-letter and its two 
consequents, the first of them denoting the 
opening, and the second the runner. In the 
signal A B C N ^ A 6' M the letters italicized 
are the significant ones, and reference to the 
diagrams. No. 1 and 2, show that they call 
for a run by the left half-back around the 
right ends. In signalling a kick, the catch- 



12 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 




Diagram No. 1. 



''Letter" system of signals; scheme of lettering open- 
ings and players. The arrows indicate the running spaces, 
the other letters the men, 3 and 4 on the lettered side are 
boxing" the opposite tackle. 




Diagram No. 2. 



" Letter " system of signals ; result of signal A B C N E 
ACM; the left half-back taking the ball around the right 
« end. 



GENERALLY CONSIBEREl) 



13 



letter is omitted entirely and any letters 
used. 

Of course any number of variations are 
possible, and a team may be drilled to two 
catch-letters in order that one may be changed 
in event of the opponents getting on to " 
the system. This is only one of the many 
ways of directing a team in action, each year 
bringing out Avhat appears to an outsider 
like a more and more hopeless jargon, but in 
reality a carefully concealed scheme of com- 
mand. With all the skill used to cover the 
systems it is wonderful how often an old 
player will fathom the mystery, and to his 
opponents' disgust, announce to his own side 
the contemplated move as soon as the signal 
is issued. 

Little by little, from a modest beginning, 
the game of American foot-ball has grown 
up into popular favor, until now it holds a 
large part of public attention during its fall 
season; many things have come up which 
have threatened to oust it from its place, but 
each one has been met by judicious legisla- 
tion, as the future difficulties which must 
come with further advancement will be. 

To any one who has played the game, to 



14 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



any one who has associated with foot-ball 
men, its value as an educational feature in 
its own sphere and place must be apparent. 

To be good in the game one must be in 
perfect physical health, must develop pluck 
and endurance, patience unending, and abso- 
lute self-control. Coming in a young man's 
life when these are traits and qualities need- 
ful of exercise, why should we wish for a 
better, a manlier, or a more innocent method 
of their development ? 



THE WEDGE: ITS DEVELOPMENT 
AND USE 



By W. M. Iryine 

DuEiNG the first ten years of Rugby foot- 
ball in America — we now wonder at the 
folly of it — the runner who carried the ball 
from the kick-off was sent ahead of the other 
players of his own side. He ran unprotected, 
depending on his ability to dodge ; also ex- 
pecting, in case he was tackled, to pass the 
ball back to one of his companions, who in 
turn should try to advance it. In those days 
tackling was not a fine art ; men tackled 
individually, and not in pairs or bunches. 
The last use of this foolish style of play by 
a 'Varsity team was in the Yale-Princeton 
game played in New Haven, in November, 
1885. Cowan, Princeton's giant rusher, at the 
kick-off, was started ahead of his team with 
the ball. The fierce, low tackling of Peters 
and Woodruff felled the Princetonian before 
he had gained five yards. 

15 



16 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



The first step toward improvement in 
starting the play at kick-off was a sort of 
unorganized interference. Instead of follow- 
ing the runner, each rusher of the side which 
carried the ball ran ahead and disconcerted 
his opposite rusher by bumping or toppling 
over the latter. This plan of attack was 
especially well carried out by Yale in the 
days when Gill and Beecher v/ere the star 
runners and dodgers of the Blue. From this 
system of individual interference, one year 
later, sprang the idea of team interference at 
the kick-off — the genesis of wedge-play. 

The first team to use wedge-play, so-called, 
was the Princeton eleven, of 1886. The 
credit of this play, as perfected at that time, 

O O O • O O O 

O 

O 

o o 

Fig. 1. 

is due to Mr. Richard M. Hodge, the Prince- 
ton quarter-back of that year. 

The wedge was known as " the straight V." 

The fundamental purpose of the V was to 
cleave the opposing rush-line, and thus give 



THE WEDGE 



17 



the runner a clear field until lie readied the 
bacls:s. (In this chapter, the darkened circle 
will always be the man who carries the ball.) 
The players build up as in Fig. 1. The 
instant the ball was snapped, the centre 
rusher ran straight ahead at full speed, and 

Fig. 2. 

the other six rushers ran in and forward, 
protecting the runner, as in Fig. 2. 

In running a straight V, the centre rusher 
must aim merely to graze the side of his 
opposite. If he strikes the latter ''amid- 
ships," the apex of the V is stopped, the sides 
are broken, and the runner is unable to ex- 
tricate himself. Each rusher in the sides of 
the V must see to it that no opponent gets 
through the V between the centre and him- 
self. The opposing line once broken, the V 
opens, and the runner thence takes care of 
himself. In 1886 Princeton played this V 
in practice daily, using it, for the first time 
in a match game, against Harvard. Ames, 
who carried the ball, was not stopped until 



18 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



he had reached Harvard's twenty-five-yard 
line. Harvard, the following year, used the 
same wedge, running it in an oblique direc- 
tion, to right or left, as advantage might 
offer. Yale further modified the straight 
V by arranging the players in V shape, before 
the ball was dribbled, each rusher placing his 
hands on the hips of the man in front (see 
Plate III.). The straight V can also be run, 
using the tackle as apex, and the backs to fill 
out one side of the V. 

The second form to appear in the evolu- 
tion of the wedge was the " shoving " wedge 
of Yale. In the fall of 1887 Princeton tried 
this style of wedge in practice. Princeton's 
captain, however, thought that the ''shov- 
ing" wedge ''broke up" too many men, and 
its use was discontinued. In 1888 Yale 
perfected this style of wedge and used it 
with telling effect, especially against Harvard. 
The " shoving " wedge is used for short gains, 
generally near the goal-line. Before the ball 
is snapped, the players of the side in pos- 
session of the ball arrange themselves as in 
Fig. 3. 

Hands are placed on shoulders in front, and 
the instant the ball is snapped, the wedge 



Plate III. 




THE WEDGE FORMED AND IN MOTION 



THE WEDGE 



19 



starts forward with one grand shove, protect- 
ing the runners on all sides. With this 
wedge, in 1888, Yale scored her only touch- 

O qO 

Fig. 3. 

down against Harvard. Against Princeton, 
she would have been equally successful had 
not the Jerseymen been afforded a week's 
time in which to arrange a plan of defence 
against the wedge. In her defence, Prince- 
ton's three centre men braced themselves, 
very low down, her two tackles broke in the 
sides of the wedge, and the end rushers played 
well out to avoid surprise by a flank move- 
ment. 

The third form of wedge was devised in 
1889 by one of the smaller colleges ; namely, 
Franklin and Marshall. It was a simple 
pushing wedge, and gained its notoriety from 
the fact that by its use Franklin and Marshall 
not only defeated all the minor colleges of 
Pennsylvania, but also defeated Lafayette 
and scored sixteen points against Princeton, 



20 



UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



which score up to that time was the largest 
ever made against Old Nassau by any team 
whatsoever. Franklin and Marshall's left 
guard was built like the trunk of a tree ; he 
had been brought up in a stone quarry and a 
blacksmith's shop, and with his two hundred 
and ten pounds and stocky build, he pos- 
sessed the pushing powers of an elephant. 
Four ordinary men in front of him could not 
stop his progress in a square push. With 
this giant as the apex, the other players 
arranged themselves in the order of Fig. 4. 

O ^ ^« o o 

o o 

Fig. 4. 

It was necessary to observe three things 
in the pushing wedge : first, keep the line 
tight; secondly, keep on your feet; thirdly, 
get the under hold on the opposing rushers. 
The pushing wedge was a concentration of 
energy at one point. Its one peculiar differ- 
ence from other wedges was that the gains 
made were generally long ones. The runner, 
being held close in the wedge for an instant 
at the breaking of the opposing line, was sent 



THE WEDGE 



21 



forth like a cork from a bottle, so great being 
tlie propelling force that not infrequently he 
lost his balance and toppled over when he had 
a clear field in front. If a double line were 
banked up in front of the apex, by the paral- 
lelogram of forces, a rotary movement was 
set up, and the enemy's line was broken 
farther from the centre. The weakness of 
the pushing wedge was that the entire line 
had to be steady at the instant the ball went 
into play. The University of Pennsjdvania 
was bright enough to discover this fact, and 
by constantly bumping the centre men of the 
opposite line, destroj^ed the wedge. The only 
other way to stop the pushing wedge was to 
lie down in front of it. 

"The Plough," as developed by the Uni- 

O O O O O 
O O ® O 
O O 

Fig. 5. 

versity of Pennsylvania in the fall of 1892, 
was a scientific piece of v/edge play. The 
ends of the line were drawn in, and the backs 
concentrated something after the style of 
Fig. 5. 



22 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



No matter how much the opposing line was 
contracted, this wedge, as played by this 
university, made its ground. The man who 
carried the ball time and again rolled over the 
heap of centre men, and down the other side, 
making his distance with little trouble. This 
w^edge enabled the University to defeat 
Princeton for the first time in football his- 
tory, and, had not a fumble been made, the 
University Avould have scored against Yale. 
By the use of The Plough," the Quaker 
City lads pushed Yale back for sixty yards, 
only to lose the ball on Yale's five-yard line 
by the disastrous fumble. 

One of the most clever pieces of headwork 
in American foot-ball is the " Harvard Flj^- 
ing Wedge," the invention of Mr. Lorin F. 
Deland, of Boston, Mass. The best explan- 
ation of this wedge can be given in Mr. 
Deland's own words : — 

''The play contains really only one new 
principle, namely, that of momentum ; but 
in the application of this principle various 
strategic features were introduced, and in the 
working out of the final play some additional 
incidents were added with a view to con- 
fusing the opponents. The principle of 



THE WEDGE 



23 



momentum enables any eleven to effect a 
concentration of its entire strength at any 
given point along the line of its opponents. 
It is impossible for the opponents to locate 
the exact point of attack, and they, therefore, 
not unexpectedly, retain their regular for- 
mation, with which they meet the straight 
wedge. If the momentum is directed against 
the opponents' flank, it keeps out of the de- 
fence the heavy men in the opposing centre, 
and the solid mass being directed at the 
tackle, has the advantage of meeting a man 
who has not been accustomed to stopping 
wedges. If the attack is directed at the centre, 
important changes are necessary in the plan. 

" The strategic features which Avere intro- 
duced to confuse the opponents were the 
elements of different speeds and different 
times of starting, with a grouping which 
gave the opponents various things to no- 
tice at once. The No. 1 wedge (Fig. A), 
which was composed of the four heaviest 
men, formed on the side lines at a distance 
from the centre which made an exact line 
from their position to a point midway be- 
tween tackle and end on the other side of the 
opponents' line, and yet left their foe to pass 



24 



UNIVJEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



in front of the ball without jeopardizing the 
safety of the pass. I think their position was 
about five yards from the side line on their 
own forty-yard line. This gave them a 











e-s^e — 0- 


-o — e- 


— G — O 












CENTRE 0F7HE FIELD 


/ 


'^si' 

O 




N52 




^ 







Fig. a. — Flying Wedge. 



straight line, just clearing the ball, and 
brin'ging them against the opponents' right 
tackle (calculating nine men stretched across 
on the opponents' line, the tackle next to 
end). 

''The No. 2 wedge (Fig. A) was shaped 
in the form of a diamond with one man in 



THE WEDGE 



25 



the centre. It was located at right angles 
to the Ime of No. 1 wedge, and one-third 
the distance from the ball. The right an- 
gle of the line brought it into the path of 
the other wedge, well in advance of the spot 
where the ball lay, so that their movement 
should not jeopardize the pass. The quarter- 
back stood by the ball in the centre of the 
field, and a man whom I call a fake-runner," 
and who was one of the half-backs, stood at 
a point to the right and rear of the quarter- 
back, and ran on a line parallel with the path 
of No. 1 wedge, and removed from it just a 
sufficient distance to bring him in as a tail- 
man in the No. 2 wedge, when the latter 
obliqued and joined the No. 1 wedge. The 
No. 1 wedge started first and had the right of 
way ; that is, the No. 2 wedge were to guide 
their speed and distance by the No. 1 wedge. 
No. 2 wedge started second, ran much more 
slowly and only one-third of the distance. 
The ''fake-runner" started third, after the 
two wedges were in motion, and he ran at 
almost top speed. The ball was the last thing 
moved. That was lifted at the point of time 
determined by the speed of the No. 1 wedge ; 
an instant before the first man in the No. 1 



26 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



wedge reached the line, the ball was lifted. 
The momentum of their rush carried them 
across the part of the ball, and virtually cov- 
ered the right of the pass, which was almost 
a hand-pass (not over two feet), and was made 
straight to the right-hand man in the diamond. 
The two wedges united, and the ''fake-run- 
ner " came in on the outside. His swerving 
sHghtly to the left gave the appearance of his 
having the ball, as this movement was made 
just as the pass took place. 

" The instructions to the combined wedges 
were to keep the lines closed up until the line 
had been passed, and an opening was then to 
be made on each side of the two men in the 



OPENING FOR 
OPPOSING TACKLE 



o 



o, 



FAKE runner" 



QUARTER-BACK 
OPENING FOR RUNNER 



Fig. B. — " Flying Wedge " in motion. 



centre of No. 2 wedge, giving the runner his 
chance of either one of these openings for his 
course down the field (Fig. B), as in this case 
we had selected the fastest man to take the 



THE WEDGE 



27 



ball, and such a large interference would 
inevitably slow him down. 

The failure of the play to gain any more 
distance in the Yale game was due to the fact 
that it had been rehearsed only two or three 
days before the game, and sufficient time had 
not been given to it for its effective work. 
The interference did not open out, and the 
runner was almost brought to a standstill 
when the wedge met the direct defence. The 
right tackle was, of course, the most danger- 
ous man, and to provide for him an opening 
was purposely left at the place where the two 
wedges joined. The quarter-back had lifted 
the ball just behind that opening, with the 
appearance of still having the ball in his 
hands, and the opposing tackle was thus 
drawn into that opening, while the real run- 
ner with the ball was well to the left of it. 
The instant this tackle had gone through the 
hole, the other opening should have been 
made, and it was here that the play failed of 
complete success." 

There are two other methods of attack 
which should be mentioned in connection 
with wedge play. First, when the ball is put 
into play from a down, using a line player as 



28 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



the apex of wedge into which the half-back 
is to run. The wedge takes the form of Fig. 6. 

This play was generally made on one of 
the tackles, and the two backs who did not 

O O O O O O O 

Fig. 6. 

have the ball formed the sides of the wedge. 
In the days when rushers used arm-inter- 
ference in blocking, this style of wedge could 
be successfully played. Since the rule against 
arm-interference was passed, an opening in 
the line gains more ground than a wedge on 
the tackle. 

The second minor form to which we refer 
was designated by some teams as the " U 
trick." In this play, the end rusher ran in 

O O O ©000 

O 

O O O 

Fig. 7. 

and helped to block the tackle, putting the 
latter into a pocket. The half-back of the 
side in possession of the ball drew nearer to 



THE WEDGE 



29 



the line ; when the ball was snapped, he 
rushed out and interfered with the end 
rusher, who, up to this time, was unguarded. 
Before the ball was snapped, the arrange- 
ment of the men was as in Fig. 7. When 
the ball was put into play, the trick assumed 
the position of Fig. 8. 

The U-trick is retained, in modified form, 
in the present system of interference play. 

O O O O o oSi^ 

Fig. 8. 

With the introduction of the wedge, much of 
the picturesqueness of foot-ball passed away. 
Many a regret is heard because the days of 
long passes, open play, free running, and re- 
peated kicking are gone. The wedge con- 
tracts the play; it huddles the players; it 
removes the brilliancy and effect of individual 
effort; it injures too many players, a dozen 
ankles and knees being sprained to-day to 
one ten years ago. These disadvantages have 
called forth much adverse criticism relative 
to the wedge. Probably the most impartial 
and pertinent statement of the case yet writ- 



30 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



ten is that which appeared in Harper s Weekly^ 
of Jan. 21, 1893, over the signature of Walter 
C. Camp. Mr. Camp is known, by reputation 
at least, to every lover of foot-ball in America. 
He has been justly styled the ''Father of 
American Foot-ball." To his coaching and 
head-work, Yale owes her prestige in this 
sport. Mr. Camp has done more for foot-ball 
in America than any other one man. By 
players of foot-ball, wherever found, Mr. 
Camp's judgment is considered supreme. 
Bearing in mind this deference to his opinion, 
we take the liberty of closing this chapter by 
quoting from his article, "A Plea for the 
Wedge in Foot-ball." Speaking of modifica- 
tions in wedge play, Mr. Camp says : — 

" Some have suggested that the problem 
might be solved by a ruling forbidding the 
men to hold on to one another in the wedge 
formation. But, here again, it would be 
practically impossible for the umpire to de- 
cide, because the men in most plays are so 
quickly in the midst of the opposing players, 
that the law would prove a dead letter as far 
as strict ruling was concerned, and only ren- 
der the umpire's lot a still more miserable 
one. 



TEE WEDGE 



31 



"A suggestion has been made that the 
wedge be permitted only inside the twenty- 
five-yard lines or only outside of the tw^enty- 
five-yard lines, thus limiting the use of it 
and making tlie play more open. The objec- 
tion to this suggestion lies in the fact that it 
is a hard matter to define exactly what the 
wedge is. 

"But there is one objection to any legisla- 
tion of this nature, and it is an objection 
in sustaining which I know that I may count 
upon the support of every devoted lover of 
the game. It is this: that legislation ought 
not to usurp the captain's rights in desig- 
nating what plays he is to use so far as the 
placing of his men is concerned. We should 
give him all the chance we can for the exer- 
cise of his judgment in this respect, for it is 
one of the chief charms of the game. It is 
the result that we should ask of him rather 
than the means. 

" The plan I would propose has the merit 
of following close upon the heels and after 
the fashion of a rule which has done more 
to make the game satisfactory to American 
colleges than all the rest of the legislation 
combined. I refer to the five-yard rule. 



82 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



As we now provide against the block game 
(which was to the spectator of the nature of 
the present wedge) by saying that in three 
consecutive attempts the ball must be ad- 
vanced five or taken back twenty yards, so 
we can, by following a similar line, provide, I 
believe, for the lessening of the wedge plays, 
and the introduction of very many pleasing 
long passes and combination plays. The rule 
might be combined with the five-yard rule, 
and provide that in perhaps two downs or 
fairs, if the ball be not advanced ten yards, 
it must traverse a space of twenty yards 
across the field either in the hands of a player 
or not. When a gentleman in San Francisco 
first mentioned a similar proposition to me, I 
was inclined to hesitate about advocating it, 
but the more I have turned it over in my 
mind, the more feasible it seems. In the 
first place, it will materially lessen one of 
the ' grown-too-great ' features of our present 
style of play. Possession of the ball has 
become abnormally desirable. It has been 
demonstrated that a strong team, even against 
skilled opponents, can carry the ball from 
kick-off to touch-down without giving the 
opponents an opportunity of exhibiting any 



THE WEDGE 



33 



offence, and to be scored upon before having 
a chance at the ball discourages any team too 
much at the outset. Possession of the ball 
ought to be valuable, but not to such an ex- 
tent ; and the rule above suggested would 
insure the more frequent exchange of pos- 
session. Then, again, it would probably 
stimulate kicking, and especially long passes 
toward the ends as well as end-running, and 
these were the features which please not only 
the ordinary spectator, but every foot-ball 
player who watches the games. 

Finally, and best of all, such a legislation 
avoids any arbitrary assumption that the 
wedge is bad or unskilful or dependent upon 
brute force, avoids placing the umpire in a 
position which no man could possibly fill 
with any satisfaction to himself, permits the 
captain to select his own method of play, 
and provides only in the results that he must 
accomplish. 

" The wedge play will continue to be used, 
but to a more limited extent, and with a 
probably greater distance of movement before 
meeting the line. The wedge play is not a 
mere weight play. It is a play that when 
well designed and skilfully executed has 



34 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



behind it weeks of planning and study. The 
wedge has a right to stay and ought to be 
given a chance. But the wedge has a way of 
tying up the play to a too limited space ; it 
has a way of exhausting and using up men 
who face it too many times in succession. 
Those outside the lines can seldom see its plan 
of action ; they can see only the mass, and it 
loses its interest when worked too often. It 
ought to be a possible play, but not all the 
play, and legislation which will induce the 
captain for the interest of his team to use 
other plays as well, is the legislation that will 
be productive of the best results in the end." 



THE END-RUSHER 



By E. W. Hallowell 

End-eush and its style of play differs from 
the other line positions. The three centre 
men must all be large and very strong, and a 
tackle to fulfil the duties now imposed on 
him must also have great strength. An in- 
telligent man who is powerful enough and 
moderately active can be taught to play a 
good game in any of these positions. At end 
it is different. There are many men who 
weigh from 145 to 165 pounds, who are active 
and fast runners, yet as end-rushers they are 
not a success ; this is because they have not 
the special mental qualities required. 

The ideal end-rusher is strong, very quick, 
and is a fast runner, but he has in addition 
the quality of perfect self-possession and of 
knowing what is happening every second of 
the time. He is able to judge quickly which 
of many things he ought to do, and then he 
does this without losing track of what every- 
35 



36 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



one else is doing. He has the faculty of 
being just where he is wanted and of being 
in every play. When it is said that an end 
" follows the ball " well, it is meant that he 
has this art of being in the right place at the 
right time. 

The play of the place is divided into two 
kinds which differ more or less one from the 
other : first, offensive, when his own side has 
the ball ; and second, defensive, when his op- 
ponents have the ball, and he is defending his 
own goal. 

In offensive work he is generally dropped 
back from his position in the line and used as 
an extra half-back, standing a little outside 
and a little nearer the rush line than the 
other three backs. If the play is towards his 
side of the line, he is used as an interferer ; if 
on the other side, he lends his weight to help 
on the play there, but to be effective in 
either of these ways he must start quickly. 
This starting quickly is rendered very diffi- 
cult, because in order not to indicate the 
direction of the play he stands in the same 
starting position, whether he intends to run 
to the right or left. A common fault with 
green ends is to give away " the point of 



THE ENB-BUSHEE 



37 



the opponents' line that is to be attacked by 
looking towards the place where it is going. 
The experienced rusher takes a general look 
to see how his opponents are placed, then 
keeps his eye on the ball ready to start the 
second it moves. When he has knocked one 
man out of the play he takes the next, and 
then follows down the field to get into the 
play again before it stops. When the signal 
is given for his full-back to kick, the end-rush 
moves out a little, even w^ith the rush line. 
As the ball is snapped, he sprints for about 
fifteen yards, then without slacking speed 
looks over his shoulder to see where the ball 
is going, although to a forward who has been 
trained up to it, the movements of his oppos- 
ing backs will serve as a clear index of the 
direction of the kick. In this running down 
on a kick in particular the present lack of 
some systematic understanding between the 
full-back and the line militates against the 
full success of the play ; if there were some 
system of signals by which the end-rushers 
could learn the direction of a kick at the time 
that a kick signal was given, much wide run- 
ning could be saved, and their efforts concen- 
trated more closely on their duties ; namely. 



38 UNIVEB8ITY FOOT-BALL 



to see that the receiving-back does not gain 
ground by a run. 

He always keeps a little outside the op- 
posing full-back, but near enough to inter- 
fere with him, rather than miss him ; (see 
Plate VIII.) for an allowed fair catch is less 
costly than a run of fifteen or twenty yards. 
He generally has it arranged with the other 
end-rush of his own side which one is to take 
the man, and which one the ball. If the 
full-back muffs, the quicker man goes for the 
ball, and the other man blocks off the full- 
back; but above all, on a kick, especially, 
the end-rush keeps track of the ball and 
follows it closely. Here is his great chance 
in the game : he brings his best points into 
play, — speed, agility, and quick judgment, 
— and if he does what he ought, and the 
opposing full-back makes a muff, he usually 
scores a touch-down. 

In defensive play his chief work is breaking 
up interference. In the game as it was played 
a few years ago, he had to break through his 
opposing end-rush, and then everything was 
easy; merely tackle the man with the ball. 
Now it is very different ; no one stands di- 
rectly in front of him, but he must break up a 



Q 



Q 

O 
< 

c:4 



THE ENB-RUSUEB 



39 



crowd of four or five interferers before he can 
tackle the man with the ball. While doing 
this he bears in mind the fact that he is re- 
sponsible for all the ground outside his posi- 
tion. Generally he does not get near the 
runner, but stops the interference and drives 
the runner inside for the tackle to get. 

Breaking up interference is a knack, and 
each man has his pet way. The safest prob- 
ably is to meet it squarely, always keeping at 
arm's length and far enough outside to pre- 
vent being cornered and pushed in. Never 
dash in for the runner until you are sure that 
he cannot dodge behind some interferer and 
go outside. The danger of this way is in 
being shoved so far out that the runner can 
go inside without the tackle's getting him; 
however, it is the end's duty to guard the out- 
side ground first, and then take the ground 
between himself and tackle if he can. This 
guarding the ground outside first, and then 
dashing in if possible, is the first and most 
important thing to be learned in end-rush 
playing (see Plate IV.). 

When he thinks his opponents are going to 
kick, he drops back five or six yards, and 
after waiting to be sure that it is not a pre- 



40 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



tended kick and an around the end play, fol- 
lows down after his opposing end and bunts 
him over as he slows up to tackle the full- 
back. 

An end-rush is the privateer of the team ; 
his work is all fast, hard, and rough, and to be 
able to keep in the game he must be in the 
pink of physical condition. It is well to 
train the end off the field as well as on, for 
there is much of the individual work con- 
nected with the place which rests simply with 
the player himself. If slow in starting, a 
good plan is to give him some lessons in 
sprint running, the one hundred yards prob- 
ably being the best distance : he should be 
trained in advance of the rest of the team 
and kept in trim, for nothing makes a team 
slower than a tired end. 



THE TACKLE 



By Wallace C. Winter 

It is difScult, indeed almost impossible, to 
give a precise rule whereby a foot-ball player 
may be governed under a particular condition 
of play. In no position on a foot-ball team is 
this fact more clearly demonstrated than in 
that of the tackle. Upon him and the end are 
directed the vast majority of attack of an 
opposing team, thus making his duties as well 
as his opportunities varied and uncertain in 
the extreme. It is due to this fact, more than 
any other, that the position of tackle has of 
late years been regarded as one of the most 
important places in the line. 

The position of tackle on a college team 
of average weight does not require a very 
heavy man. Rather a quick tackle of 170 
to 180 pounds, than one in whom agility is 
sacrificed to beef. However, the main quality 
necessary in a tackle, other than those required 
of any foot-ball player, is that of adapting him- 
41 



42 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



self to the style of play. This refers not to 
his vis-d-vis alone, but to the entire opposing 
team. Seldom or never does it happen that 
two teams play the same style of game, and 
it is even more rare that the tackle will find 
himself opposite a man whose play resembles 
that of some former adversary. 

As has been said, while no iron-clad rule 
can be given for any particular occasion or 
style, none the less are there certain general 
lines which should be followed out, to insure 
the best results both as regards the team and 
the individual. 

To a foot-ball team, and hence to the tackle, 
are presented at different times the two 
general phases of the game. (1) When on 
the defensive and (2) when on the offensive. 
Suppose him to be on the defensive ; plainly 
there are but three general ways whereby the 
ball can be advanced: (1) around the ends, 
(2) bucking the line, (3) punt or drop-kick. 
For these exegencies the tackle must be pre- 
pared ; the ball, to be advanced, has got to 
go in one of these ways, though the manner 
of execution may be greatly diversified. 

When on the defensive I think it safe for 
the tackle to always go through; this rule, 



i 



THE TACKLE 



43 



while it may not invariably be to advantage, 
will, in the vast majority of cases, prove so. 
Once through, if the ball is taken around his 
end, he must guard against being blocked' off 
by one of the backs or "drawn in." One of 
the most difficult things to prevent in a new 
tackle is his eagerness to get the man with 
the ball, thus being drawn in towards the 
centre, where he is easily blocked off, the 
runner with the ball passing safely out of 
his reach. The tackle must in this case rely 
upon his end to turn the runner in. It is 
practically impossible to get around a good 
end, and the tackle may be sure that sooner 
or later the runner will be forced to turn ; 
then is the time he must tackle him ; never 
stop until the ball is down. It often happens 
when a runner has a clear field before him he 
may be tackled from behind. ''Follow the 
ball ! " This rule is without exception. 

It should be borne in mind that the man- 
ner of "breaking through" must often be 
changed. A good tackle is seldom to be 
tricked twice in the same way; hence a 
change of tactics is imperative. One way 
of doing this is to "play low" — the instant 
the ball is put in play to jump into the man 



44 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



opposite, thus disconcerting him and putting 
him off his balance. Another way is to put 
the shoulder under the arm of your adversary, 
lifting up quickly. This is especially prac- 
ticable in the event of a disparity in the size 
of the two men. There is also the method 
known as ''revolving," which consists of a 
rapid turn of the body with the arms bent 
and extended. The chief feature of this, 
however, is the very slight attention given 
to the elbows, or the places they may strike; 
except in extreme cases it is hardly to be re- 
sorted to. If the tackle be a quick man, a 
feint to go one side and a sudden turn to the 
other often sees him through. In connection 
with this point, the tackle should be fully 
alive to the importance of watching the ball 
all the time, the instant it is put in play ex- 
ecuting the manoeuvre he has decided upon ; 
the man who starts first has the advantage. 

When the opponents are "bucking the 
line," the tackle has his severest trials ; the 
least he can do is to stand his ground; and to 
do really good work he should get the runner 
before he strikes the line. If a heavy man be 
bucking the line, even though the tackle does 
stand immovable and tackles ever so cleanly, 



THE TACKLE 



45 



it is almost a surety that the runner will at 
least make his length. In case the tackle 
finds it impossible to get through, let him 
push his man back and lie down before the 
attack, keeping a sharp lookout for stray legs 
and arms (see Plate V.). 

When the opponents are thus directing 
their forces against the line, the tackle may in 
a measure rely upon the guard to do a great 
deal, especially when the attack is directed 
between himself and the guard. However, 
when made nearer the end, he has more to 
do than ever. He must do all the tackling 
possible, thus saving his "line-back," pre- 
sumably a lighter man, and one not calculated 
to withstand the onslaught of a heavy runner 
alone. 

In the event of the opponents resorting to 
a punt or drop-kick, the same rule of " going 
through " applies. The tackle must himself 
do so, or else make an opening through which 
an extra man in his line can pass. Nor does 
his work end there ; he should follow the 
quarter-back or "line-back," since it is alto- 
gether probable that his predecessor has 
encountered one or more of the opposing 
blockers. In addition to this, he should care- 



46 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



fully guard against the successful execution 
of a " bluff-kick " ; for his end having run 
down the field, he alone must guard that 
point ; to prevent this he should keep on the 
outside of the kicker, thus preventing the 
circling of his end, and enhancing his chances 
for a clean tackle. 

When on the offensive, the play of the 
tackle is necessarily changed. He must guard 
against the same contingencies that he prac- 
tises when on the defensive. If it is intended 
that the ball be taken around his end, he 
must block his man effectually and long. It 
is a good rule to follow never to cease block- 
ing until the possibility of " your man " 
getting the runner is past. Of course the 
amount of time thus required depends upon 
the swiftness of the runner and the character 
of the interference. In case the ball is taken 
around the other end, the blocking may be of 
shorter duration ; in fact, it is seldom that any 
blocking, to speak of, by the tackle is neces- 
sary ; for his energies will he better expended 
in following directly behind the runner with 
the ball, thus precluding the possibility of a 
tackle from behind ; as well as being close to 
the ball in the event of a fumble. 



THE TACKLE 



47 



When the " backs " are " bucking the line," 
the tackle has much to do. Should the sig- 
nal call for a break in the line between him- 
self and the guard, he must push his man 
out^ and that quickly ; if unable to do this, 
push him forward. One of the best ways 
to make a hole in the line is to play very 
low and slightly back from the line, jump- 
ing forward quickly, getting the opponent 
a little below the hip with the shoulder. 
It is seldom that an adequate opening cannot 
b^ made in this manner. Should the opposite 
tackle habitually play very close to his guard, 
instead of attempting to push him out^ he 
may be pushed in, often with good results. 
This necessitates very rapid movements on 
the part of the offender, however, inasmuch 
as the guard is pushing in the same direction. 
To facilitate the success of the play, a signal 
may be arranged between the tackle and the 
back, whereby the latter may be advised in 
what place he may expect to find an opening. 

When a drop-kick or punt is contemplated, 
the situation changes, if the former, the tackle 
on the offensive, as well as the entire team, 
should block hard^ until the ball has been 
safely dropped. The system of blocking gen- 



48 tfNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



erally used in the event of a kick is that 
known as taking the inside man" ; that is, 
beginning with the centre, each individual 
man is confronted by a single individual : in 
case of an extra man coming up in the oppo- 
nents' line the tackle must move up and con- 
front him, while the end takes up his position 
in the nearest vacancy. If a punt, the tactics 
of the two tackles are somewhat different. 
If the back who is to do the punting is 
" right-footed," ix, kicks with his right foot, 
the left tackle can leave his man after but a 
very brief detention,^ whereas the right tackle 
must block somewhat longer before he can 
feel assured that his man will not interfere 
with the kick, and vice versa. With a correct 
system of blocking behind the lines by the 
backs the tackles should feel able to ''get 
down the field " after but a very brief delay. 
With an unusually quick quarter and full- 
back the tackle whose side the kicker does 
not favor should '' get down the field " im- 
mediately, taking care, however, that the op- 
posing man be made to go on the o^6feide. 
This is safe, as has been said, only when 
there is more than average celerity behind 
the line. The exact length of time to block 



THE TACKLE 



49 



for a punt can only be determined by con- 
stant effort and repeated trial. 

The system of having the tackles run with 
the ball from the line is not so unusual as 
might be expected, considering the advance 
in the recognized importance of that position 
in late years. A few words on this phase of 
the tackle's career may be of assistance. If the 
tackle is to run with the ball, he should play 
in as close to his guard as is consistent, that 
is, so as not to advertise the proposed move 
to the opposing team ; if he generally plays 
" away from his man " a little back of the 
line, so much the better, for he thereby gains 
an instant in getting started for the ball. 
Immediately upon the ball being snapped 
back, the guard should put his foot out as far 
as he safely can, thus offering an obstacle to 
the following through of the opposing tackle, 
while the end, cautiously edging in towards 
the tackle, should follow immediately behind, 
offering an additional hindrance to the fol- 
lowing adversary. In running with the ball 
in this manner the runner should first get the 
ball safely in both hands ; second, bending 
down as low as possible, go for his opening, 
(generally between the other guard and 



50 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



tackle), head first: it is absolutely essential 
that the head should be well lowered. If 
success attends his efforts, and he is cleanly 
through the line, he may straighten up, and 
then exercise such half-back qualities as he 
may possess. Practice in quick starting and 
turning should be given off the field as well 
as on, for upon his quickness in " getting 
away " will depend in a great measure the 
number of yards he gains. 

Concerning the tackle's duty in interfer- 
ence but little can be said in this paper, since 
it is essentially a team move, and must be 
treated as such in a separate paper. The 
tackle has his duties in interferences, as in all 
other moves on the field, but they are so 
closely allied to those of his fellow-players 
that any attempt at giving even a "general 
rule " would be unsatisfactory and useless. 



THE GUARD 



By Hector W. Cowan 

Since every year brings more or less of 
change and advance in the game of foot-ball, 
and what a few years ago was regarded as 
most important may be superseded by some- 
thing much better, I will not dwell too much 
upon the minutiae of the game. There are, 
however, certain qualities and characteristics 
which must be adhered to in order to become 
a successful player ; and it will be the more 
elementary points, therefore, on which I will 
place most emphasis. First, in regard to the 
qualities which are necessary for a first-class 
guard — they are these : muscle, brain, and 
speed. 

If a captain, in choosing a man for this 
position, finds one with all these qualifica- 
tions, well and good; but if not, he should 
look first for weight. The game as it is now 
played needs strength at the centre of the 
line ; and for that reason, a captain should 
51 



62 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



not be too hasty in discarding a heavy man 
because he is slow and awkward. Many of 
the most noted guards were such when they 
first took up the game, but by sharp coaching 
and hard work have made a name for them- 
selves. 

In the beginning of the season, the smaller 
man will almost invariably make the best 
showing; but the captain should have in 
miud, when choosing his player, which will 
be the better man at the end of the season. 
In this way, the mistake which so many 
captains make by constantly changing their 
men, and coming down to the time of the 
important games with an unsettled team, 
would be avoided. 

The team should be substantially chosen 
in the first two or three weeks' practice ; 
and if it should be deemed expedient to 
make a change later, do not waste any more 
time than necessary in doing so. 

A rush line, to work together as a team, 
must understand one another ; and this can- 
not be when the men are constantly changed. 
It is my theory, that a naturally inferior 
player who plays Avith the team is preferable 
to a star player Avho works independently. 



THE GUABD 



63 



It might be well for me to explain what I 
mean by brain : not necessarily the brightest 
men in the class make the best players, but 
those who play understandingly, have a sys- 
tem in their play, and make every movement 
count. Any one trying for a place on a 
team should make a study of his position, 
and not depend too much on a coach. 

As to the duties of guard : When the 
opponents have the ball, you are supposed 
not to know what is to be done with it. The 
experienced player, however, can almost 
invariably tell, and should act accordingly. 
There is one point that the guard must 
always keep in mind, and that is to interfere 
with the opponents' quarter-back. He is not 
always to try this, but watch his oppor- 
tunities. The times when it is most effectual 
are on a kick or third try " ; in either case, 
he is not to stop if he fails in this attempt, 
but to follow up the ball. In case of a kick, 
he should try and . place himself before the 
kicker, with arms extended to intercept the 
ball. This is one of the duties of guard ; 
and if he is active, he will be surprised at 
the number of times he is successful in either 
stopping the ball, or, failing in this, so to 



54 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 

interfere with the kicker as to shorten his 
kick, and be in a position to prevent his 
putting his men on side. 

When the opponents run with the ball, his 
first duty is to see that no ground is made 
through his position, either by an opening 
being made or by a small wedge. The open- 
ing that he is especially responsible for is 
that between himself and tackle, and in break- 
ing through the line he should generally go 
through on the outside of his opponent, not 
to stop there, but follow up the ball. He will 
often be able to tackle the runner from behind, 
or even before he reaches the line, and so 
cause him to lose ground. There are times,, 
however, when it is not the duty of the guard 
to try to break through so much as to keep 
from being shoved back, and that is when 
small wedges are formed against him. 

He must play low and, if possible, throw his 
opponents back before their combined weight 
is against him ; at any rate, he should put him- 
self in his strongest position, and hold on un- 
til his associates are able to relieve him of 
the strain by breaking up the wedge. The 
guard who can withstand this kind of play is 
a valuable man, even if he should not be pro- 



THE GUABD 



55 



ficient in some other plays, for the reason 
that the most demoralizing thing to a team 
is to be unable to stop these short ad- 
vances. 

In tackling, a guard, as well as all players, 
should tackle low whenever it is possible ; but 
there are many times in the guard's position 
when a low tackle is impossible on account 
of close quarters, and he should never hesi- 
tate to tackle his man wherever he can take 
him. It should also be borne in mind that 
the guard, on account of the close quarters 
in which he is so often placed, has a splendid 
opportunity to deprive the runner of the ball, 
and in attacking the ball, he accomplishes 
either one of two things, — getting possession 
of it, or the runner, feeling the ball slipping 
from him, immediately gives up all thought 
of advance, and crying " down," so deprives 
himself of any opportunity for advance that 
may be offered him. For this reason the 
captain should impress upon his team the 
necessity of always trying to take away 
the ball. 

Thus far I have tried to show some of the 
most important duties of a guard while the 
opponents have the ball; now the duties 



56 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 

which fall to a guard taking the offensive side. 
The three centre men should be as one man : 
they should stand close enough together to 
support one another. It is good policy for 
the captain of a green team to crowd the line 
pretty closely together, which may be done 
by the tackle and end coming in toward the 
guard, irrespective of where their opponents 
may stand. In this way the line has more 
stability and allows the quarter and backs to 
work at a better advantage. 

The first duty of a guard, when his side 
has the ball, is to block well. He must be 
sure to give the quarter time to get rid of the 
ball. It is well for a new player to be very 
careful in this regard ; for nothing will hinder 
team work more than to have the quarter in- 
terfered with by having the opponents get 
through too quickly. It also depends on the 
play as to the length of time that he should 
block his man. If the runner is to go through 
by his side, he should endeavor to force his 
man the other way. If a V or small wedge 
is formed on himself, he should force his men 
backward, or if there is to be a run around 
the end, he should let his man through, de- 
laying him just enough to give the quarter 



THE GUABD 



57 



time to pass the ball. By so doing, it places 
him too far behind the runner to do any 
damage, while if he be blocked too long, 
he may notice where the runner goes and 
by going behind his own line be able to head 
him off. 

If the play is to be a punt he should 
hold his man long enough to allow the 
back time to kick, and in this case it de- 
pends very much on the quickness of the 
kicker. If the kicker is slow, he must block 
the longer. Some of our great games have 
been lost or won by a blocked kick. If the 
kick is a try for goal, the guard should block 
his man till the ball has actually left the foot. 
The guard's work, however, is not done when 
he has blocked his man, but in case of a 
punted ball, he should run down the field to 
assist in preventing his opponent's backs from 
running wdth the ball, or, in case of a fumble, 
be in a fair position to obtain it. On the 
other hand, if the ball is played for a run 
toward either end, having blocked his man 
long enough to allow the quarter to get rid 
of the ball, he should immediately hasten 
ahead in advance of the runner and interfere 
with the opposing backs. 



68 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



A guard should never be idle, but should 
throw himself into every possible play and 
study to see how he can make his weight 
count for the most, and, above all, should 
endeavor to play with and for the team. 



CENTRE-RUSH 



By W. J. George 

The centre of a rush line is the key to the 
beginning of all successful play. In all 
scrimmages the ball is put in play by the 
centre of the line. There is, therefore, ne- 
cessitated at this point, a concentration of 
strength and carefulness which cannot be too 
closely considered by the captain of a team. 
Unless the ball is put in play accurately, and 
at the same time complete protection given to 
the receiving quarter-back, the intended play 
is unsuccessful, and the opposing side has 
compelled, with loss of ground, an additional 
down, or possibly has secured possession of 
the ball. 

The first essential that a centre must have 
is strength, physical power; he must have 
strength enough to withstand the onslaughts 
of his opponent, and to be able, with some 
measure of certainty, when called on, to force 
him back, or at least to so entangle him with 
59 



60 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



one or more of his own players as to render 
his efforts to hinder the play in operation 
futile. This must be accomplished under the 
disadvantage of sending back the ball to his 
quarter-back carefully and accurately, while 
the other centre, unimpeded by not having 
his attention divided between the ball and 
his opposing player, is marshalling all of his 
strength and ingenuity to circumvent both 
objects of his opponent. He will not only 
be called upon to withstand the individual 
efforts of the player opposite him, but more 
than any man in the line, will he be made 
the objective point of attack by the united 
efforts of the entire opposing team. 

Most of the heavy wedge work is done in and 
around the centre of the line, so that the cen- 
tre man, if not always the apex, is in every 
wedge-play, and receives the brunt of the 
force from the opposing side. 

The centre must also be a man of perfect 
self-control. No player on the team is more 
severely tried than he ; no position offers 
more temptation to a naturally unruly tem- 
per. Stooping low, and when his own side 
has possession of the ball, his entire attention 
seemingly given up to it ; unobservant of the 



CENTBE-RUSR 



61 



schemes of his opponents in front of him, he 
is pushed and shoved about in a way that 
would be calculated to try the patience of the 
man of Uz. His most exasperating annoy- 
ances come quite as frequently from the oppo- 
site guards, as from the centre himself. Just 
when he gets nicely balanced and when he 
has secured an advantage over his man, and 
is fully prepared to snap the ball, he receives 
a shove from one of the guards which com- 
pletely knocks him off his balance, and ren- 
ders him powerless to put the ball in play 
until he has again reinstated himself in 
position. He is also subject to rough treat- 
ment, not intended for him, it is true, but 
nevertheless annoying; this may come from 
his own guards in their struggle with the men 
opposite them, or from runners going through 
the line near centre, or from those aiding 
them, as in the tandem play. 

The position necessitating him to play low, 
and well bent over, when he has the ball, ren- 
ders him an almost entirely defensive player, 
in that his eyes are diverted from the man 
opposite him to the ball ; and yet he is offen- 
sive in that he has the advantage of knowing, 
previous to his antagonist, the moment at 



62 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



which the ball is to be put in play. The con- 
stant surging of the line is pinned against 
him, and he has not a moment's peace from 
the time that the game is called until it closes. 
For this reason he must be a man of wonder- 
ful self-control, a man who, under the most 
exasperating temptations to yield to anger, 
can be relied on to hold his entire being sub- 
servient to the accomplishment of the pro- 
jected play. No man is fit for the position, 
no matter how strong he may be, unless he 
has complete control of his temper. The 
times when he will be most severely tried are 
always the most critical, and a moment's rash 
act may entirely destroy the chances of victory. 

The true centre must also be a man of the 
most exacting carefulness, — a carefulness 
divested of slowness and deliberation, but re- 
taining all of the elements of prudence. Unless 
the ball be delivered properly to the quarter- 
back, there is necessitated a break or halt in 
the play, the result of which may be most 
disastrous. Every play, that it may be carried 
to a successful termination, must receive 
proper support at every point in its progress. 
The nearer the beginning of the play this sup- 
port is wanting, the more complete will be 



CENTRE-RUSE 



63 



its failure. A down may seem a trivial affair, 
yet it is a tremendous waste of energy when 
brought about by carelessness, as well as most 
demoralizing to a team. The most important 
consequence is, however, that every play gives 
to the opponents a chance to secure possession 
of the ball. 

Strength, self-control, and a painstaking 
carefulness are the three qualities that every 
centre must have as a foundation on which 
to build up his system of play. These three 
qualities are simply the initial ones. The 
" star " centre is the man who, in addition to 
the triad, has the ability to outwit his oppo- 
nent, and the quickness to foresee and fore- 
stall his schemes. 

To deceive your opponent, and to do it in 
such a way that you lead him to believe that 
he is getting the best of you, is indeed a rare 
gift, but one which no man stands in need of 
more than he who accepts the position of 
snap-back on a rush line. 

Under no circumstances should an opposing 
centre be allowed to interfere with the safe 
delivery of the ball into the quarter-back's 
hands. It is true that an umpire can control 
this largely, but a finished player will have 



64 • UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 

all of the resources at his command which will 
enable him to carry out his duty in the event 
of the umpire being either inattentive or un- 
mindful of centre interference. To get the 
ball back successfully, he must be firmly bal- 
anced, so that a slight shove or pull from the 
side will not affect the direction of the force 
applied to the ball. 

It is not necessary that he should exhaust 
all of his strength by concentrating his powers 
against his opponent during each individual 
time that he sends back the ball. Indeed, it 
is of the utmost importance that he learn how 
to husband his strength so that it may serve 
him in good stead at the proper time. 

In interference the centre has, of course, 
the duties of the other forwards, although 
the close play at this point necessarily makes 
his work in this direction more limited than 
that of the outside line. As a general rule, 
he should strive to keep himself between the 
runner and the opposing centre, so as to inter- 
fere in case of an attempt to tackle. He should 
endeavor to cut off his opponent to the oppo- 
site side from that to which the ball is to be 
advanced. For instance, if the run is to be 
around the right end, he should cut off his 



CENTBE-BUSH 



65 



opponent to the left, he himself being between 
him and the ball, to see that he does not in 
any way mar the play. 

In the case of a kick by his own side the 
opposite centre must always be blocked for a 
sufficient length of time to allow the full-back 
to get in his kick, and no longer. Just the 
proper time to hold the opposite man is a 
hard thing to lay down by rule, since the per- 
sonal equation enters so largely into the cal- 
culation ; some quarters are quicker in their 
movements than others, and the time needed 
by the full-back will vary in proportion to his 
skill in kicking ; it is an interval that must 
be learned anew with each new combination 
of players, and the only way to do so is by 
experiment in practice games. The green 
player is apt to hold his man too long, and 
thus ruin his own chances of getting down 
the field in time to be of any assistance, while 
to the veteran the temptation is great to allow 
the opposite centre the right of vf ay too soon, 
in order that his own pathway down the field 
may be unobstructed. It never ought to be 
possible for a centre to block a kick unless 
the play has been delayed by either the 
quarter or kicking-back. 



66 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



The primal duty of the centre is, of course, 
in putting the ball in play, although up to 
1885 the end generally assumed this function 
when the ball went into touch : it was seen, 
however, that this could be with profit left to 
the hands of the snap-back, since, in con- 
stantly handling the ball, he had an advan- 
tage over the vicarious practice of the end. 
Peters, of Yale, was the first centre to assume 
this part of the play, and his thorough mas- 
tery of the art at once demonstrated the 
soundness of the innovation. 

In the earlier days the ball was laid on its 
side and rolled, or snapped back by the foot, 
the centre standing nearly upright to combat 
the onslaught of the opposite man : it was 
found before long that the ball could be got- 
ten back more accurately, and with greater 
advantage to the quarter-back, if placed with 
the long diameter up, still being sent back by 
the foot ; then it was found that this did not 
give a man opportunity to play low enough 
to withstand a charge from beneath, and the 
hand was substituted for the foot, insuring a 
greater measure of accuracy, and allowing 
lower play (see Plate VI.). 

The two most apparent weaknesses of a 



CENTRE-RUSH 



67 



beginning centre, in regard to play relating to 
the ball, are his inability to stand so as to pre- 
vent his opponent from pushing him over on 
the quarter, or in endeavoring to remedy this 
fault, so bracing himself as to have one leg 
and foot in line with the delivery of the ball. 
These are faults to be overcome by practice, 
but there are two recognized ways of stand- 
ing, each with its advantages and disadvan- 
tages. The most generally adopted is that 
with the legs square, neither withdrawn much 
behind the other, and the body well bent 
over, the ball delivered just at the moment 
that a short charge is made against the 
opposing man. The advantage of this posi- 
tion is that there is no chance of deflecting 
the course of the ball with a misplaced foot 
or leg, and the disadvantage that it is easier 
to throw a man, so standing, from his balance, 
than it is where he uses the second position ; 
that is, with the leg thrown back as a brace 
or prop. Constant practice will give a man 
the desired stability in the first, or square 
position, and it has, moreover, the advantage 
of not allowing as much side space for a run- 
ner coming through the line. 

Another essential part of the centre's duties 



68 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



is that of following the ball : since all plays 
originate from him, any delay on his part in 
lining up, not only delays the execution of a 
play by his own side, but affords the other 
team, if they be a bit slow, the opportunity 
of collecting their scattered forces the better 
to withstand an attack therefore it should 
be the object of the centre to be on the spot 
where a down is called, as soon as, if not be- 
fore, the referee's whistle announces the fact. 

As has been said, most of the offensive 
wedge work is aimed at the centre of the 
line, and upon him devolves in a great meas- 
ure the duty of stopping the success of the 
play. A wedge may be stopped in several 
ways : smashed, by direct weight at the apex ; 
broken by a man thrown under the feet of the 
runners, or its advance turned to a lateral or 
even, perhaps, a retrograde movement. In 
any of these methods the position of centre- 
rush and his attribute of physical power serve 
a good purpose, particularly so in the last, 
for meeting a wedge low at the apex, before 
it has gained great momentum, he can gener- 
ally check it for a moment, and that moment 
should suffice for a well-trained guard and 
his attendants to turn it on itself, by force 



CENTRE-BUSH 



69 



directed to one side of tlie point so that it 
may be skewed " and twisted on itself, as a 
skilful cowboy will " mill " a herd of stam- 
peding cattle, by driving in the leaders. 

No other position on the line offers such 
rare opportunity for unobserved strategy and 
trickery, and the head plays by far a more 
important part than the body. From the 
beginning of a game until the end each man 
is struggling to outwit and deceive his oppo- 
nent, quite as much as to withstand and over- 
match his physical efforts. 



QUARTER-BACK 



By Edgar Allan Poe 

QuAETEH-BACK is now, beyond doubt, the 
pivotal position on a foot-ball team, the one 
around which everything revolves, and on 
which, other things being equal, the success 
or failure of an eleven hangs. No other 
position, except, perhaps, that of tackle, has 
made such rapid strides in importance during 
the last five or six years. 

To appreciate this one must bear in mind, 
first, that it was not until 1882 that a player 
was specially assigned to the place ; before 
then, any one of the backs nearest to the 
centre at the time, stepping in and receiving 
the ball ; and secondly, that even after the 
position itself was put on a firm basis, the 
tasks of the incumbent were for several years 
few and primitive. 

The average quarter-back considered that 
he had acquitted himself creditably, if, during 
a game, he made but few fumbles, was up in 
71 



72 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



his place in time, missed a tackle only occa- 
sionally, and passed the ball accurately. 

But this state of things was not destined 
to last. 1887 marked the beginning of a 
great change. 

The game assumed new features ; and the 
result has been the introduction of a more 
elaborate system of signalling, and the con- 
centrating of almost all of the plays around 
the quarter, till now his duties have become 
more varied and complicated than those of 
any other player on the field. The new 
system of signalling adopted, and the assign- 
ing of the duty of giving these signals to the 
quarter-back, has been one of the main causes 
of the sudden rise of the position into such 
prominence. 

Prior to 1888 the captains themselves in- 
variably gave the signals. During that fall, 
however, at Princeton, it was discovered that 
this task could best be performed by the 
quarter-back, inasmuch as he was best sit- 
uated to take in the whole field and spy out 
the weaknesses of the adversary. Yale and 
Harvard stuck to the old idea until the 
following autumn, when all the teams recog- 
nized the wisdom of Princeton's method ; 



qUARTEE-BACK 



73 



and since then, controlling the eleven on the 
field has become one of the acknowledged, 
as well as one of the most important, duties 
of the quarter-back. 

So essential now, to success, is skilful and 
rapid manoeuvring of one's men that it seems 
to me a quarter should henceforth be chosen 
primarily for his ability to select his sig- 
nals with judgment and to give them with 
rapidity. 

There is no doubt but that the big games 
are rendered less attractive and interesting, 
and the strength and effectiveness of an 
eleven's offence are greatly weakened by 
the quantity of time that is consumed by the 
quarter-back in deciding upon his next play. 
This leads me to state that the growing 
tendency to alwaj^s put the captain at quar- 
ter-back, when possible, is a mistake. His 
duties are numerous enough, without adding 
to them that of giving the signals. Besides, 
especially in the final games, the knowledge 
that whatever play he may decide on is not 
subject to review by any one else, and that 
thus the whole responsibility of it rests upon 
himself, often causes the captain to pause 
and deliberate, — a thing detrimental, as I 



74 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



have just mentioned, to the game and his 
side. 

Were the quarter not the captain, however, 
he would not be burdened by this feeling of 
ultimate responsibility, and hence would be 
more liable to call off the signals without 
hesitation ; knowing that should he mal^e 
an error of judgment, the captain is there to 
correct him. 

Next to a good cool head the chief requisite 
for a quarter-back is agility combined with 
strength. In thi^ respect both McCormick 
of Yale and King of Princeton were ideal 
men for the position. Each was like a cat 
in his movements and a bull in his strength, 

— a combination but rarely seen. 

Outside of signalling, the duties of the 
quarter-back may be divided into two classes, 

— offensive and defensive. 

First, as to the former. In every play the 
ball passes through his hands. It is essential 
therefore that he always be up in his place 
the instant the referee's whistle blows. As 
to how far from the centre he should stand 
is a matter for each one to decide for himself. 

About two feet away seems the right dis- 
tance. This allows the ball, when properly 



QUABTEB-BACK 



75 



snapped, to bounce but once before reaching 
the hands. 

The hands themselves should be kept flat 
on the ground till the ball touches them. In 
passing for a kick, the preferable way is to 
jump back a couple of steps, assorting the 
ball while doing so. 

Yale rather inclines toward the idea of 
standing still and tossing the ball back im- 
mediately. 

This latter way is a little risky ; for in 1889 
the quarter's hand was caught and a touch- 
down resulted, and once during the game 
with Princeton this fall, McCormick's pass 
was similarly intercepted and the benefit of 
a kick thereby lost. 

In the plays around the end, the quarter 
should do as effective interference work as 
any man on the team. He should be off the 
moment the ball is in his hands, passing 
it while in motion, and should keep ahead 
of and close to the runner all the way down 
the field, knocking off first this man and then 
that. 

As he is generally short and stocky, the 
work is easy and at the same time very en- 
tertaining. In fact, nothing affords greater 



76 



UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



pleasure on the foot-ball field than bowling 
over some big opponent just as he is bracing 
himself for a tackle. 

In all plays through the line he must go 
through in front of the runner, and aid not 
only in making a hole for him, but also in 
pulling him forward. 

This, a much more difficult task than inter- 
fering around the end, though it may not ap- 
pear so at first glance, requires great agility in 
movement and exceeding rapidity in starting. 

The mode of delivering the ball to a run- 
ner varies. To a half-back or full-back it 
should generally be tossed. In the case of a 
line man, however, the better way is to hand 
it. The quarter must recollect also that 
when there is to be a kick, his work does not 
consist in merely passing the ball. He should 
ward off from the full-back any opposing 
rusher who may happen to break through, 
especially in the centre. 

There are also many tricks to enable him 
to run with the ball, which I will not under- 
take to mention, since they are beyond the 
scope of this article. 

A few words now as to the defensive work. 
Here he can be of invaluable service also. 



qUABTEU-BACK 



77 



Indeed, as the game is played to-day, he has 
as much tackling to do as any man on the 
eleven. 

Not many years since, his duty was to 
simply back up the rush line and hold him- 
self in readiness to tackle the runner in case 
he got through. He was used more as a 
safety man, and only occasionally did he 
resort to an aggressive policy. 

But lately the defensive system of the 
team has been greatly improved. The two 
half-backs have been moved up close to the 
line, and they, along with the quarter now 
constitute as it were a second rush line. 

By reason of this change the quarter has 
a greater freedom of action, and consequently 
we see him playing now as aggressively as 
the regular rushers. I might almost say even 
more aggressively ; for having no fixed posi- 
tion, he is at liberty to break through now 
here, now there, though in the main he 
he should confine his efforts to attacks on 
the opposing centre. 

Lastly he can assist greatly in blocking a 
kick, either by going through himself or 
enabling another of his side to do so, by 
diverting the attention of his man. 



78 



UNIVEB81TY FOOT-BALL 



In this general manner I have touched 
upon the main points of the position of 
quarter-back. 

The opinions that I have expressed are 
based upon actual experience in the position 
and a close observation and careful study of 
the methods employed by others. 

Of course every good player should have a 
style peculiarly his own, but if in developing 
it, he remembers the few fundamental prin- 
ciples that I have endeavored to lay down, 
I think he will find them of use. 



HALF-BACK 



By James P. Lee 

The characteristic duty of the half-back in 
the game of foot-ball is to carry and advance 
the ball. Other members of the team are, it 
is true, frequently called upon to run with 
the ball. Of late years, indeed, the full-back 
has taken an almost equal share with the 
half-backs in this respect. But it is a duty 
which devolves especially upon the half- 
backs, and the player who can be relied upon 
for a gain in an emergency possesses one of 
the first qualifications for the position. 

To advance the ball is, however, but one 
of the several duties of a half-back. A con- 
sideration of the subject of half-back play 
may be divided for convenience into three 
headings, — individual play, offensive play, 
and defensive play. 

Every man has a distinct duty to perform 
in each play. If he fails to accomplish it, the 
failure of the play as a whole may be laid to 
79 



80 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



him. This is the business of the coach, to 
teach each player on the team what he is ex- 
pected to do and how he is expected to go 
about it. But before a half-back can fulfil 
his part in team play, he should be first 
taught, and then practise, those things which 
depend upon him alone. In this sense, kick- 
ing and catching are examples of individual 
play. Again, there is a right way and a 
wrong way to receive the ball from the 
quarter-back. Of what value is the most 
elaborately worked out ''end-play," if from 
a failure to properly receive the ball from 
the quarter, the half-back drops it and is 
obliged to turn and fall upon it ? The play 
is spoiled at its start. Taking the ball from 
the quarter should be a matter of instinct 
Avith the half-back, and should be continually 
practised. With the exception of a pass for 
a kick, the ball should always be received 
by the half-back while he is in motion. In 
nearly all cases the pass is almost from hand 
to hand, or at most the ball is tossed with 
precision, not thrown with full force, to the 
runner, who receives it naturally in the path 
of his run, and while at full speed. In carry- 
ing the ball, the arm which covers it should 



HALF-BACK 



81 



completely protect it ; otherwise it may be 
knocked from the runner's possession. It 
is necessary for the half-back to remember 
also to carry the ball under the arm which is 
the further from the mass of the opposing 
players who are trying to tackle him. If, 
for instance, his opponents are all coming 
up on his left side, his left arm should be 
free to ward them off. Thus in going around 
the left end of the line, the ball should al- 
ways be carried under the left arm ; for the 
opponents will come up on the runner's right 
side, and his right arm must be free. For a 
similar reason, for a run around the right end, 
or between tackle and end on the right side 
of the line, the ball is carried under the right 
arm. The proper methods of starting, ward- 
ing off, and falling on the ball, are also things 
which a half-back must practise himself. The 
three backs stand in a straight line at a dis- 
tance of about four yards behind the rush 
line. The full-back is directly behind the 
centre-rush, and faces the ball; and it is 
better for both the half-backs also to be 
slightly inclined towards the centre. The 
secrecy of the play can in this way be always 
secured, and the men can watch the ball best 



82 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



from this position (Plate VIT.). As for start- 
ing, it is equally easy to start in either direc- 
tion. Immediately the signal is given, and 
before the ball is put into play, two mistakes 
may be made by the backs. The worst of 
these is to make a false start in the direction 
in which the play is to go. The other is to 
yield to the temptation to look simultaneously 
to the same spot. The effect of either is to 
destroy the secrecy of the play. A certain 
tackle once told me that he always noticed 
the movement of the eyes of the opposing 
backs when the signal was given. He was 
seldom mistaken in knowing where the play 
was to go, and could inform his end-rush and 
rush-line half-backs to that effect. When the 
runner is under way, he should remember, in 
warding off an opponent, to keep his arm in 
a straight position, otherwise a tackier can 
easily break down his guard and reach him ; 
but if kept at arm's length, the runner is safe. 
The straight arm can either be used full on 
the body of his opponent, or as a pivot around 
which the half-back may run while he keeps 
his opponent from him. In falling upon the 
ball, the great point to remember is to get a 
secure hold upon it by holding it into the 



HALF-BACK 



83 



body. Tn no case do the words possession 
is nine-tenths of the law " apply more than 
in the game of foot-ball. The tenth point, 
the indignant protest of the half-back, that 
he had the ball down " before he lost it, is 
seldom of any avail. Kicking, catching, and 
tackling are matters of daily practice for the 
three backs. Of the first two it is sufficient 
to say that all the candidates for the half- 
back position should be proficient in them, 
although they belong in the first place to the 
full-back's position, and are discussed under 
that heading. It is of course most important 
that the half-backs should learn to tackle 
surely. A method sometimes employed to 
teach tackling, is the use of a tackling- 
machine. This consists of a heavy swinging 
bag, hang within a few inches of the ground 
by a pulley. As the bag swings forward the 
tackier goes to meet it. The machine is so 
constructed that one is obliged to tackle it 
low, and as it is lifted and thrown backward 
to the ground, it falls slowly and heavily, 
owing to the resisting pulley which is used. 
The machine is also used to teach a man to 
tackle a runner who has got by him. It is 
swung in the air, and the tackier follows it 



84 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 

from behind, throwing himself towards it at 
the proper moment, and taking it low, he 
goes as though it were a man running at the 
ball. So much for individual play. As far 
as space would allow, I have made mention 
of several important things which a half-back 
should be proficient in before it is well for 
him to begin to think of team play. These 
things should be practised during the spring 
and summer months, as well as during the 
foot-ball season; for when the fall comes 
round, the short season of six or seven weeks 
is none too long in which to learn the num- 
ber of plays which are taught to a university 
team. 

Of team play, it may be roughly said, that 
it is the disposition and use of the eleven 
men of the team in the manner in which 
each will be of his greatest value to each 
play as a whole. This, both to the player 
and the spectator, is the most interesting ele- 
ment of the game. Each player is taught 
his distinct duty in every play, and it is in 
making use of the men where they will tell 
most in a united effort to advance the ball, 
that our game is now so far ahead of the 
English game. This is the scientific part of 



HALF-BACK 



85 



foot-ball, and the combinations which can be 
made are an endless source of study to the 
captain and the coach. 

There are one or two plays which should 
be mentioned in connection with the question 
of offensive team play, to show better the 
part which the half-back takes in the game. 

Supposing it is desired to send the right 
half-back between the centre-rush and right- 
guard, the hole between centre and guard is 
apt to be well closed up in any case, and it 
is inadvisable to crowd it further by sending 
in one of your own men in an attempt to 
clear a way for the runner. The runner 
should go first, the full-back next, and the 
left half-back third. The three men should 
be in a straight line and close together; thus 
w^ien they strike the rush line, they will do 
so with a force equivalent to the momentum 
which three men could exercise, and yet in 
going through the hole they will take up the 
room of but one man. When the runner 
strikes the line he should be running fast 
and low, and should remember that the great 
point is to get into the line and beyond it 
quickly. Quickness in the first move of this 
play is absolutely necessary. 



86 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



Neither half-back is sent nowadays around 
his own end of the line. The left half-back 
is sent around the right end, and the right 
half-back around the left. In this way the 
runner can make use naturally of two inter- 
ferers, — the full-back and the other half-back. 
In the former method, the half-back alone 
could be used, and then only by allowing 
him to go between the quarter-back and the 
runner after the ball is put into play and 
before it was passed. This is very clumsy. 
The full-back would frequently interfere with 
the pass. To exemplify the duties of the 
half-backs in the main play, let us take a 
play around the right end of the line. The 
right half-back will do well if he clears the 
end-rush out of the game and follows the 
play after he has done so. It is essential for 
an interferer, whether he is a half-back or 
not, to remember that after he has disposed 
of his man, he should follow the play. He 
will be of great use in guarding the rear, for 
it is from this point that many of the open 
plays are stopped. The left half-back takes 
the ball on the right; he is surrounded by 
blockers-off, whom he should use with intel- 
ligence, either by dodging behind them or 



HALF-BACK 



87 



putting his hand on the waist of one of them : 
both ways are useful at different times. It 
must be remembered that the runner and his 
interference may travel across the breadth of 
the field and not gain a foot of ground. It 
is necessary here, just as in centre plays, for 
the play to get past the line as soon as pos- 
sible. It is then only that the gain counts ; 
and if the end-rush is forced out of the game 
in a play around the end, it is time to cut in 
immediately and force the run straight up 
the field. If the runner does not get past 
the line when he has the opportunity, he is 
likely to be tackled before he reaches it. 

While on the defence, it is recognized now 
that it is the better mode of play to leave 
but one man back to guard the field. He 
should be the surest catch and the best kicker 
of the three, and it is the place for the full- 
back. Both half-backs play in the line. The 
rush-line half-back should take his stand on 
the defence, just outside his tackle. It should 
be his special duty to stop plays both inside 
and outside of the end-rush. But he must 
be careful not to become so mixed up in the 
line that he cannot get back immediately to 
the centre in time to stop all push-plays and 



88 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



wedges, by falling on the ground in front of 
them on his own side of the line. If the 
opponent's play is around the other end of 
the line, the half-back had better chase it 
from behind. At a certain point the play 
will receive a check, owing to contact with 
those who are attempting to break up the 
interference. It is at this point that the half- 
back who chases the play will have the 
opportunity of catching it and tackling the 
runner. If the play is to his own end of 
the line, the rush-line half-back plays as a 
second tackle ; the end-rush drives the play 
in, and the runner, being forced to turn, runs 
into the arms of the tackle and half-back, 
both of whom go to meet the interference 
immediately on the start of the play. At all 
times when it appears to be the manifest 
intention of the enemy to kick, especially 
upon their third down, one of the half-backs 
must get back and cover the field with the full- 
back (see Plate VI.). In such a case these two 
must play with an entire mutual understand- 
ing. When the ball is kicked, the full-back by 
preference says w^ho shall take the kick ; the 
other backs up in case of a fumble. The 
blocking off to protect the man catching 



HALF-BACK 



89 



the ball must be done by the other half-back 
and the end-rushers. The advisability of 
returning the kick depends somewhat upon 
the respective capabilities of the opposing 
kicker. If A kicks the ball but forty yards, 
and B can return it fifty yards, the result, 
barring accidents, is equivalent to a loss of 
ten yards by A's team. If, however, a man 
has the opportunity to return a kick, he has 
usually the opportunity to make at least a 
short gain by a run. To do so is in most 
cases of greater value to his team than to 
return the kick and suffer the disadvantage 
of losing the ball. 

Let a half-back first practise assiduously to 
become proficient in every kind of individual 
play. As to the part which is allotted to 
him in team play, that, of course, is a matter 
largely of personal opinion. The half-back 
should remember this : he should carefully 
think out for himself the capabilities of his 
position, and, when off the field, inform the 
captain of his own opinion. If a man plays 
in this way with intelligence, not only will 
his value to the team be practically enhanced, 
but the game will be of far greater interest 
to himself. Any endeavor of the individual 



90 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



to take a whole play into his own hands and 
throw aside upon the field the part assigned 
to him in any given move should be stopped 
the first day of practice. But when that is 
thoroughly understood, a captain cannot do 
better than to encourage his men to think for 
themselves, and to stimulate amongst them 
in this way a healthy interest in the game. 



FULL-BACK 



By W. T. Bull 

WiTHilsr the last three years only has the 
position of full-back assumed a degree of 
importance second to no other on the team. 
Once the full-back was selected for the posi- 
tion because of his fine tackling ; now he 
must not only combine the rushing tactics 
and the interference of the half-backs, but 
be able to kick as well. 

As the interference game has developed 
and changed the style of play, so have the 
duties of full-back increased in proportion. 
Now the full-back is called on to do all the 
kicking ; formerly the half-backs did it. Now 
he has an assigned place in every play ; when 
the interference game was first introduced, 
he was never an important figure. The posi- 
tion as played to-day, then, requires not only 
the proverbial cool head and tackling quali- 
ties to maintain the last point of the defence, 
beyond which scoring becomes almost a 
91 



92 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



certainty, but the endurance of an iron man 
in order to get into all plays and keep up 
the standard of kicking. I say all plays, to 
emphasize the importance of the full-back 
thinking that he must try to do something 
at all times, as though his life depended 
on it. 

The position which the full-back assumes 
gives him the likeliest opportunities for kick- 
ing, and for this reason he is selected for 
this highly important work, and his perfec- 
tion in this line consequently becomes the 
first requisite in selecting a player for the 
place. Next in importance in the selection 
of a player is aptitude in getting into inter- 
ference for half-back plays. Then would 
follow the ability to buck the centre in such 
an approved style that a small gain of never 
less than a yard becomes a certainty, barring 
accident, of course, a mistake in signal, or 
a fumble. 

Treated in the order of their importance, 
then, as above ennumerated, we may get an 
idea of what the full-back must do in the 
aggressive game. 

Kicking should include not only the ability 
to punt, but to drop-kick. This, unfortu- 



FULL-BACK 



93 



nately, has been fulfilled by few players with 
any degree of skill, particularly in the latter 
case. Punting is perhaps more important, 
in the long run, than drop-kicking, because 
it becomes necessary more often to employ 
it. 

In punting there are several points to be 
observed in particular. First, the ability to 
get the ball away without its being blocked; 
then to place the ball ; and finally to get it 
just as far down the field as possible and yet 
within reaching distance of the ends. 

To get the ball away without its being 
blocked, the full-back must be able to kick 
either from a standstill, or on the run, which 
becomes necessary in order to dodge first an 
opposing rusher or two who have broken 
through the interference. 

To place accurately, the player must select 
the most desirable place before receiving the 
ball ; then his experience, attained by long 
practice, should get it there. Experience 
will also teach him how much ground his 
ends can cover, and he should at will be able 
to kick twenty-five, forty, or fifty yards, as 
the occasion may require. 

The way to acquire versatility in kicking 



94 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



the ball is to have, in practice, a player rush 
for the kicker and try to block the ball and 
to acquire accuracy in placing, the only way 
is to do in practice always what should be 
done in a game ; that is, before receiving the 
ball select some object in front, or to the side, 
and then try to reach it, or make the ball 
travel in a direct line for it. Let it be the 
rule whilst practismg, to have always a 
definite object in view; kicking at random is 
a grave error. 

As for the distance to be covered, the prac- 
tice games will soon teach one just how much 
force to employ, and in the employment of 
this force it is necessary to consider the 
quickness of the opposing rushers in break- 
ing through, and then the wind. In the 
former case, if they break through slowly, it 
follows that you can wait until your ends 
have a start of five yards or more, which dis- 
tance you will have to add to that which you 
know your ends capable of overcoming. 

As regards the wind, if it be favorable, the 
ball should be kicked well in the air to allow 
for the carrying force of the Avind ; and if 
against you, a long low kick, which should be 
well placed. It is most important in this 



FULL-BACK 



95 



case to communicate by signals to the ends 
where that phace is to be : particularly is this 
so when it becomes advisable to kick the ball 
into "touch," thus making a certainty of 
having a player or two about the ball when 
it falls, and increasing as well the chances of 
securing it should an opponent touch it, or 
the kicker succeed in putting all on side. 
But at all times it is well to signal the ends, 
for by giving them confidence as to just 
where to run they become faster, cover more 
ground, and reduce to a minimum the success 
of a return or a run : this is self-evident. 

There are a number of different motions 
which the kicker may impart to the ball at 
will, — the revolving motion, where the ball 
travels as a projectile without tumbling, and 
the tumbling motion, either forward or back- 
ward. These different kicks can be acquired 
by only the hardest kind of practice, and 
need no particular instruction. They are to 
be perfected by years, almost, of experience 
and hard work. Drop-kicking is, of course, 
at critical stages of the game, of prime im- 
portance. To be successful, a player must be 
able first of all to get the ball away immedi- 
ately he receives it from the quarter-back, 



96 



UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



and not lose any accuracy thereby. The 
goal should always be in the mind's eye, and 
the eye should be only on the ball: this is 
imperative. 

There are so many ways of drop-kicking, 
all of which have had as many successful 
performers, that a separate description would 
take up endless space almost. But which- 
ever waj^ be adopted, whether the ball be 
dropped on the side by one hand, or whether 
it be dropped directly in front, the top point- 
ing from or toward the kicker, is a matter of 
little importance, so that the ball be dropped 
squarely, without canting to one side, and 
the toe meets the middle seam squarely, 
whilst travelling in a straight line, the two 
cardinal points of which are the middle of 
the goal and the ball itself. To emphasize 
this latter point it may prove profitable to re- 
mark that in place-kicking for goal this is 
observed to the letter. If the holder of the 
ball is reliable, that is to say, he does not per- 
mit the ball to change its position when 
placed on the ground, success is assured. It 
is necessary, however, to remember in kick- 
ing goals the caution given above about keep- 
ing the eye on the ball. In sighting the ball 



FULL-BACK 



97 



for the goal you fix its exact locality in your 
mind, then just glue the eye on a certain 
spot on the middle seam and about midway 
between the lower part of the lacings and 
the bottom of the ball, — the very spot, in 
fact, which experience has taught you, if 
struck squarely, will yield a goal. Then 
deliberately make the kick: never hurry, 
never try to kick with all your might, for 
accuracy suffers thereby. 

In receiving the ball from the quarter-back 
it should be caught in the hands, not the arms, 
to save time, and once caught should not be 
turned and handled before dropping; too 
much time is always wasted by so doing, 
and a movement of the arms alone suffices to 
fix the ball properly : a trial or two will 
quickly demonstrate this. 

Interference play is next to be considered. 
The position which the full-back assumes rela- 
tive to the rush line is governed, of course, by 
the play to be made, but the way to interfere 
changes. Let these words ever ring in your 
ears : go at your man lotv and use your 
shoulder roughly ; make it the unexceptional 
rule to render the first man you strike useless, 
and then proceed to take another ; but be sure 



98 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



of the first at all odds, and you have accom- 
plished much for the success of the play. 

In runs by the halves, around the ends, 
the full-back runs a little ahead and to the 
left for left-end plays, and vice versa for 
right-end plays. In running ahead, care must 
be taken in gauging your speed so as to keep 
just in front of the runner, and not allow too 
much space to intervene. 

If ahead, select your man and get him 
out of the play without fail; then you can 
follow up behind and protect the runner: 
if in the rear, follow the runner closely 
and stick to him whilst guarding off until 
he is about to be brought to earth, then 
add your weight to his, keep your feet if 
possible, and when he falls, you can drag him 
along a little : a foot may mean a touch-down, 
and many times, a first down. In centre 
plays the only interference which can be 
done to advantage is from the rear, and 
here again your weight in its entirety should 
be applied the moment the hole is reached 
and opposition encountered. Bucking the 
centre " is a science which few master. 
There are two requirements absolutely es- 
sential : they are firmness on the feet and 



FULL-BACK 



99 



low running. Then follows tlie ability to get 
a flying start and strike the hole squarely. 
The ball may be held under one arm without 
the least danger of losing it, the free arm 
being used as a driving-rod to clear the way. 
Both arms, however, should be about the ball 
when downed. 

Let us now consider the position relative 
to the other players in the defensive game, 
or when the opposite side has the ball. 

Judgment of the finest and quickest kind 
and a thorough knowledge of the game now 
enter and show to their best advantage. 
Here, too, we obtain the primary idea or 
meaning of the term "full-back," which is 
to back up, and in most cases the half-backs 
are the ones to demand this attention. Once 
imbued with this idea, the player in the full- 
back position has learned the first principle 
of defence. He will, therefore, never permit 
himself to get in advance of the halves, as 
for instance, if an opposing left half-back be 
making for the right end. Instead of darting 
through the line to tackle him, the full-back 
will follow up his own left half, and so close 
that in case the half misses his tackle he will 
be on the spot to bring tlie runner down 



100 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



before he can recover from the shock. When 
a centre play is made, he will likewise keep 
in the rear, ever ready to do his work when 
the halves fail. But, like all rules, there are 
exceptions, and at times it happens that the 
full-back has a clean try for the runner, and 
to let the chance go by would be an error 
indeed. 

This is where judgment is a consideration 
of quite as much importance as before the 
play starts. Then he must size up " the 
play if possible. If he thinks a kick is con- 
templated, he must drop back quickly, and, 
if a line play, he must direct his halves - — 
caution them if necessary — and spur them 
on with words of encouragement that he is 
close at hand, ever ready to assist. 

Five yards back of and between the 
halves, is the rule w^hen playing close up to 
the line to meet running plays, unless one 
half-back is sent by the captain into the line, 
in which case he assumes, for the time being, 
the place vacated. When well back to re- 
ceive a kick, the full-back should call out 
the name of the player to take the ball : if 
himself, then the halves form on either side 
and a little in the rear, thus forming a tri- 



FULL-BACK 



101 



angle. If a left half-back, he forms in the 
rear, to the left of the catcher, and vice versa^ 
when the right half-back is to try for the 
ball. This rule will apply ordinarily; but 
when it happens that only one opponent gets 
down the field under the kick, it is advisable 
for one or both halves to interfere with him, 
and thus allow the catcher a chance for a 
return kick or a run. 

The slightest opportunity for a run should 
be seized ; and if that be not presented, then 
a kick resorted to. 

In catching the ball from a kick it is well 
to train yourself to forget all else but the 
ball. It is impossible to watch the players 
rushing for you and the ball at the same 
time (see Plate VIII.). 

From what has been said about kicking it 
must not be inferred that the full-back alone 
can perform this duty; for it happens at 
times that a half-back can do it to better 
advantage, as in the case of a fair catch. 

In fact, it would be a step well advanced in 
the science of the game to have the kicking 
divided equally between the full-back and 
one of the halves. At least such a system 
would make blocked balls less frequent, from 



102 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



the fact that there would be created a certain 
amount of mdecision on the part of your 
opponents as to which player to make for. 

Of course the same formation would have 
to be observed, but this could be easily 
arranged. 

At the present time there is one great 
obstacle in the way : a scarcity of kickers of 
merit, and the little likelihood of any two 
players eligible to play on the same team, 
possessing an equal amount of proficiency. 
One or the other would surely be so much 
better that it would be poor policy indeed 
not to use him altogether. 



TRAINING 



Probably no subject connected with ath- 
letics has received a more diversified and 
thorough treatment than the best way of 
training an individual or a team for some 
special physical effort. 

There are systems without number, each 
bearing the stamp of individualism, but all 
resting on tlie common basis of diet, hygiene, 
and exercise. The changes may be rung on 
these according to the views of the trainer, 
but they are the basic principles, and all 
methods of physical culture must rest on them 
for a beginning. The three are so nearly 
allied in importance that it would be almost 
impossible to make a distinction in favor of 
any one: the neglect of one weakens the 
others, and the three must be employed at 
the same time to get good results. 

Taking a team in the fall, before the men 
are in good hard shape, the first thing to be 
done is to cut off the two antagonists to 
training, — tobacco and alcohol ; unless this be 
103 



104 



UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



done, subsequent measures are useless. Then 
light exercise, as " track running," to loosen 
up the muscles and get a little ''wind": 
after a day or two of this, short halves may 
be played, the time being gradually increased 
as the players settle down to their work until 
full time is reached. Of course the question 
of diet depends more or less on the financial 
condition of the organization training its 
team. It is by far better to have the men 
under the personal supervision of the captain 
at each meal, that he may regulate what they 
eat in accordance with the system adopted. 

A simple diet is the one indicated, with a 
predominance of nitrogenous food, and yet 
care should be taken that it does not, by lack 
of variety, become distasteful. In meats, 
beef, of course, is the staple, since it wears 
better than any other one, but it may be 
varied by mutton, chicken, or white-meated 
game. For vegetables, it is a good rule to 
have one farinaceous and one green, — pota- 
toes, rice, or hominy, and lettuce (without 
dressing), spinach, or cresses. The bread 
should be stale and lights baker's bread being 
preferable on this account. 

There is one routine practice which seems 



TBAINING 



105 



absurd from a medical standpoint ; that is the 
common custom of interdicting coffee, and 
yet allowing quantities of iced tea or hot tea 
to be drunk. The active principles of both — 
namely, caffeine and theine — are identical, 
save for name, and tea has the disadvantage 
of being a decided astringent ; if one be 
excluded, the other ought, and coffee is prob- 
ably in moderation the one to be preferred. 
Milk is also commonly forbidden, although it 
is recognized in all diet lists as the nearest 
approach to an ideal food. 

Of latter days there has been, in the 
writer's opinion, more of a tendency to over- 
train than not to train enough, and the one 
fault is as bad as the other. Some men can 
stand more training than others, and the per- 
sonal equation should always be taken account 
of, and each individual watched for the least 
indication that he is getting too ''fine." It 
should be the business of the trainer to see 
that the meals are scrupulously clean, and that 
they are well served, for many men will go 
hungry rather than eat a " messy " dinner 
illy prepared. 

The mid-day meal should be the heartiest, 
breakfast and supper of a lighter character. 



106 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 

An allowable diet for a day might com- 
prise some of the following articles : — 

Breakfast, 8 A.M. 

Oat meal, hominy grits, or hominy. 

Steak, mutton chops, eggs (boiled or poached). 

Potatoes (baked or stewed). 

Bread or toast. 

Milk or coffee. 

Dinner, 12, 1, or 2 P.M. 

A clear soup, oysters (slightly stewed). 

Beef, mutton, chicken, turkey. 

Potatoes (baked, boiled, mashed). 

Tomatoes, rice", hominy, lettuce, spinach. 

Bread (stale wheaten). 

A light custard or pudding, apples. 

Apollinaris. 

Supper, 6 P.M. 

Eggs (poached, boiled). 
Steak, chops. 
Bread, milk toast. 
Apple sauce, prunes. 
Tea, milk. 

As for hygiene, the same rules which 
apply under any other conditions are sound 
here. Plenty of sleep, good ventilation, 
absence of nervous strain or worry, and 
good care of the skin by massage or "rub- 
bing down." Combining the three elements 



TRAINING 



107 



of exercise, diet, and hygiene, for a day we 
should have a schedule on the order of the 
following : — 

Rise at 7 a.m., breakfast at 8. 

Exercise (the heaviest before the mid-day 
meal). 

Rub down with whiskey and water and 
towels after exercise. 
Dinner, 12, 1, or 2. 

Light exercise, passing ball, kicking, prac- 
tising ''tricks." 
Supper at 6. 

To bed at 10, in a cool room, in a quiet 
place, only one man in a bed. 

Of course there is infinitely more that 
might be said on the subject; but as it is 
capable of such a wide range of variation, 
and since it starts on such a common-sense 
foundation, it ought not to be difficult for 
any captain or coach to formulate for himself 
a perfectly satisfactory method. 



THE REFEREE AND UMPIRE. 



Unless one is familiar, thoroughly familiar, 
with the game ; unless one has a good mem- 
ory, a quick eye, and cool head ; above all 
else, unless one has the ability to give a 
decision on a close point with the utmost 
fairness and without the least suspicion of 
bias, — the best advice on the subject is that 
which Punch gave to people thinking of 
marrying, — Don't ! " 

It seems a very easy thing to decide on 
the field whether a ball be down " at one 
spot or four feet away from that place ; 
whether a gain of five yards has been made, 
or only three ; whether a man has muffed a 
punt, or lost it through wanton interference : 
all these things, to the onlooker in a match 
game, seem easy and plain, yet there is no 
duty which requires more painstaking care- 
fulness and attention than that of the judges 
in a contest. 

It looks simple, and seems easy; yet it is 
109 



110 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



strange how many men, and old foot-ball 
players too, will give decisions which are 
much in discord with the facts of the play. 

If one is to serve either as referee or 
umpire at a known date ahead, it is a good 
plan to practise for it, as he would if he were 
to play instead of give decisions. Nothing 
will quicken his perceptions more, nor show 
him more surely on what points he is hazy, 
than the actual fact of having them brought 
before him in scrub games for a ruling. 
Aside from thi^s, there are points which are 
not covered definitely by the rules, and these 
he must get at by exclusion and the benefit 
of former decisions as a precedent. For in- 
stance, suppose a fair catch be made, and the 
catcher place the ball on the ground, without 
claiming either a fair catch or a down ; is the 
ball in play, or not? It has been claimed 
that it is, since, in a fair catch, it is in play 
as soon as it touches earth ; and it has been 
decided that it is not, since the rules state 
only two ways of playing from a catch, — drop- 
kick with its modifications of place-kick and 
dribble, and a down : it has also been ruled 
that the ball has been played, and the side 
holding it has made a down. 



THE REFEREE AND UMPIRE 111 

Many things of this kind may come up, 
and the only way to be prepared to meet 
them is to have gone over them in practice. 
Do not despise the rule-book. Familiarity 
with its contents may save many a vexatious 
minute of hunting for a rendering all of which 
you can remember is ''that it is somewhere 
on the right-hand page near the bottom." 

Before starting in a game, it is well for the 
referee and umpire to confer and determine 
just what part of the decisions each under- 
stands as belonging to his province. 

One of the most annoying things connected 
with the referee's duties is to have a multi- 
plicity of captains on the field, each one of 
whom feels himself privileged to make claims 
and kick on decisions; if allowed, it will con- 
fuse and rattle the coolest man. It is well to 
take it at the start and state firmly, emphat- 
ically, and finally that protests from the cap- 
tains only will be received, and then proceed 
on that basis. 

Always make up your mind fully on a point 
before giving a decision, and when it is once 
given, let it stand. Your authority is final, 
and few times will any decided protest be 
made in the face of a firm ruling unless it 



112 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 

be manifestly wrong. Some captains always 
start out with the design of browbeating the 
referee and umpire. If they succeed, so much 
more advantage for their team ; if not, they 
generally stop and play foot-ball. 

With a cool head, a mind of his own, a 
knowledge of the game, and no interest in 
either team, it ought not to be a difficult 
matter to referee or umpire for any twenty- 
two men who can abide by honest, square 
decisions. 



RULES AND CONSTITUTION 

OF THE 

AIEEICAN liNTEECOLLEGIATE ASSOCIATION 



RULES AND CONSTITUTION 



OF THE 

AIEEICAN INTEKCOLLEGIATE ASSOCIATION 



Rule 1 . — (a) A drop-kick is made by letting the 
ball fall from the hands and kicking it at the very- 
instant it rises. 

(b) A place-kick is made by kicking the ball after 
it has been placed on the ground. 

(c) A punt is made by letting the ball fall from the 
hands and kicking it before it touches the ground. 

(d) Kick-ofE is a place-kick from the centre of the 
field of play, and cannot score a goal. 

(e) Kick-out is a drop-kick, or place-kick, by a 
player of the side which has touched the ball down in 
their own goal, or into whose touch-in-goal the ball 
has gone, and cannot score a goal. (See Kules 32 
and 34.) 

(/) A free-kick is one where the opponents are 
restrained by rule. 

Rule 2. — (a) In touch means out of bounds. 
(h) A fair is putting the ball in play from touch. 

Rule 3. — A foul is any violation of a rule. 
115 





In Goal. 

Goal Line. Goal Line. 
(181/2 feet) 


•[^00 HI qonox 


In Touch. 

Touch or Bounds. 330 feet. Touch or Bounds. 


( Goal. ) 
1 fin foof 

•:^no-:5[Oi5j jo %imi'j 9UTi;-pjB7C-g^ 


In Touch. 

Touch or Bounds. 330 feet. Touch or Bounds. 




25-yard-line Limit of Kick-out, 
( "1^00 ) 


Touch in Goal. 




Touch in Goal. 

1 



RULES AND CONSTITUTION 117 



Rule 4. — (a) A touch-down is made when the ball 
is carried, kicked or passed across the goal line and 
there held, either in goal or touch-in -goal ; the ball 
to be brought out from the place called " down," not 
the place where it crosses the goal line. 

Note. — The Ball adopted and used exclusiyely by the 
American Intercollegiate Association is the Spalding J." 
Ball, made by A. G. Spalding & Bros., and to be genuine 
must bear their Trade Mark. 

(b) A safety is made when a player guarding his 
goal receives the ball from a player of his own side, 
either by a pass, kick, or a snap-back, and then touches 
it down behind his goal line, or when he himself 
carries the ball across his own goal line and touches it 
dowai, or when he puts the ball into his own touch-in- 
goal, or when the ball, being kicked by one of his 
own side, bounds back from an opponent across the 
goal line, and he then touches it down. 

(c) A touch-back is made when a player touches 
the ball to the ground behind his own goal, the impetus 
which sent the ball across the line having been received 
from an opponent. 

E,ULE 5. — A punt-out is a punt made by a plajw 
of the side which has made a touch-down in their 
opponents' goal to another of his own side for a fair 
catch. 

Rule 6. — A goal may be obtained by kicking the 
ball in any way except a punt from the field of play 
(without touching the ground, or dress, or person of 
any player after the kick) over the cross-bar or post 
of opponents' goal. 



118 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



Rule 7. — A scrimmage takes place when the holder 
of the ball puts it down on the ground, and puts it in 
play by kicking it or snapping it back. 

Rule 8. — A fair catch is a catch made direct from 
a kick by one of the opponents, or from a puut-out by 
one of the same side, provided the catcher made a 
mark with his heel at the spot where he has made the 
catch, and no other of his side touch the ball. If the 
catcher, after making his mark, be deliberately thrown 
to the ground by an opponent, he shall be given five 
yards, unless this carries the ball across the goal line. 

Rule 9. — Charging is rushing forward to seize the 
ball or tackle a player. 

Rule 10. — ^Interference is using the hands or arms 
in any way to obstruct or hold a player who has not 
the ball. This does not apply to the man running 
with the ball. 

Rule 11. — The ball is dead : 

I. When the holder has cried down, or when the 
referee has cried down, or when the umpire has called 
foul. 

II. When a goal has been obtained. 

III. When it has gone into touch, or touch-in-goal, 
except for punt-out. 

TV. W^hen a touch-down or safety has been made. 

y. When a fair catch has been heeled. No play can 
be made while the ball is dead, except to put in play 
by rule. 

Rule 12. — The grounds must be 330 feet in length 
and 160 feet in width, with a goal placed in the middle 
of each goal line, composed of two upright posts, ex- 



BULES AND CONSTITUTION 119 



ceeding 20 feet in height, and placed 18 feet 6 inches 
apart, with cross-bar 10 feet from the ground. 

Rule 13. — The game shall be played by teams of 
eleven men each ; and in case of a disqualified or 
injured player a substitute shall take his place. Nor 
shall the disqualified or injured player return to fur- 
ther participation in the game. 

KuLE 14. — There shall be an umpire and a referee. 
No man shall act as an umpire who is an alumnus of 
either of the competing colleges. The umpires shall 
be nominated and elected by the Advisoiy Committee. 
The referee shall be chosen by the two captains of the 
opposing teams in each game, except in case of dis- 
agreement, when the choice shall be referred to the 
Advisory Committee, whose decision shall be final. 
All the referees and umpires shall be permanently 
elected and assigned on or before the third Saturday 
in October in each year. 

KuLE 15. — (a) The umpire is the judge for the 
players, and his decision is final regarding fouls and 
unfair tactics. 

(h) The referee is judge for the ball, and his decision 
is final in all points not covered by the umpire. 

(c) Both umpire and referee shall use whistles to 
indicate cessation of play on fouls and downs. The 
referee shall use a stop watch in timing the game. 

(d) The umpire shall permit no coaching, either by 
substitutes, coaches, or any one inside the ropes. If 
such coaching occur, he shall warn the offender, and 
upon the second offence must have him sent behind 
the ropes for the remainder of the game. 



120 UNIYEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



EuLE 16. — (a) The time of a game is an hour and 
a half, each side playing forty-five minutes from each 
goal. There shall be ten minutes' intermission be- 
tween the two halves. The game shall be decided by 
the score of even halves. Either side refusing to play 
after ordered to by the referee, shall forfeit the game. 
This shall also apply to refusing to commence the game 
when ordered to by the referee. The referee shall 
notify the captains of the time remaining not more 
than ten nor less than five minutes from the end of 
each haK. 

(h) Time shall not be called for the end of a three- 
quarter until the ball is dead ; and in the case of a try- 
at-goal from a touch-down the try shall be allowed. 
Time shall be taken out while the ball is being brought 
out either for a try, kick-out, or kick-off. 

Rule 17. — IsTo one wearing projecting nails or iron 
plates on his shoes, or any metal substance upon his 
person, shall be allowed to play in a match. N"o 
sticky or greasy substance shall be used on the person 
of players. 

Rule 18. — The ball goes into touch when it crosses 
the side line, or when the holder puts part of either 
foot across or on that line. The touch line is in touch 
and the goal line in goal. 

Rule 19. — The captains shall toss up before the 
commencement of the match, and the winner of the 
toss shall have his choice of goal or of kick-off. The 
same side shall not kick-off in two successive halves. 

Rule 20. — The ball shall be kicked off at the be- 
ginning of each half; and whenever a goal has been 



RULES AND CONSTITUTION 121 



obtained, the side which has lost it shall kick off. 
(See Rules 32 and 34.) 

EuLE 21. — A player who has made and claimed a 
fair catch shall take a drop-kick, or a punt, or place 
the ball for a place-kick. The opponents may come 
up to the catcher's mark, and the ball must be kicked 
from some spot behind that mark on a parallel to 
touch line. 

Rule 22. — The side which has a free-kick must be 
behind the ball when it is kicked. At kick-off the 
opposite side must stand at least ten yards in front of 
the ball until it is kicked. 

Rule 23. — Charging is lawful for opponents if a 
punter advances beyond his line, or in case of a place- 
kick, immediately the ball is put in play by touching 
the ground. In case of a punt-out not till ball is 
kicked. 

Rule 24. — (a) A player is put off side, if, during a 
scrimmage, he gets in front of the ball, or if the ball 
has been last touched by his own side behind him. It 
is impossible for a player to be off side in his own goal. 
No player when off side shall touch the ball, or inter- 
rupt, or obstruct opponent with his hands or arms 
until again on side. 

(b) A player being off side is put on side when the 
ball has touched an opponent, or when one of his own 
side has run in front of him, either with the ball, or 
having touched it when behind him. 

(c) If a player when off side touches the ball inside 
the opponents' five-yard line, the ball shall go as a 
touch-back to the opponents. 



122 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



Rule 25. — No player shall lay his hands upon, or 
interfere by use of hands or arms, with an opponent, 
unless he has the ball. The side which has the ball 
can only interfere with the body. The side which has 
not the ball can use the hands and arms, as heretofore. 

Rule 26. — (a) A foul shall be granted for inten- 
tional delay of game, off side play, or holding an 
opponent, unless he has the ball. No delay arising 
from any cause whatsoever shall continue more than 
five minutes. 

(b) The penalty for fouls and violation of rules, 
except otherwise provided, shall be a down for the 
other side ; or if the side making the foul has not the 
ball, five yards to the opponents. 

Rule 27. — (a) A player shall be disqualified for 
unnecessary roughness, hacking, or striking with 
closed fist. 

(h) For the offences of throttling, tripping up, or 
intentional tackling below the knees, the opponents 
shall receive twenty -five yards, or a free-kick, at their 
option . In case, however, the twenty-five yards would 
carry the ball across the goal line they can have half 
the distance from the spot of the offence to the goal 
line, and shall not be allowed a free-kick. 

Rule 28. — A player may throw or pass the ball in 
any direction except towards opponents' goal. If the 
ball be batted in any direction or thrown forward, it 
shall go down on the spot to opponents. 

Rule 29. — If a player when off side interferes with 
an opponent trying for a fair catch, by touching him 
or the ball, or waving his hat or hands, the opponent 



BULES AND CONSTITUTION 123 



may have a free-kick, or down, where the interference 
occurred. 

Rule 30. — (a) If a player having the ball be 
tackled and the ball fairly held, the man so tackling 
shall cry " held," the one so tackled must cry " down," 
and some player of his side put it down for a scrim- 
mage. The snapper back and the man opposite him 
cannot pick out the ball with the hand until it touch 
a third man ; nor can the opponents touch the ball 
until it is in motion. The opposing snapper back is 
entitled to no part of the ball and cannot touch the 
ball till put in motion : the penalty being five yards to 
the side which has the ball. If the snapper back be 
off side in the act of snapping back, the ball must be 
snapped again, and if this occurs three times on same 
down, the ball goes to opponents. The man who 
first receives the ball when snapped back from a down, 
or thrown back from a fair, shall not carry the ball 
forward under any circumstances whatever. If, in 
three consecutive fairs and downs, unless the ball cross 
the goal line, a team shall not have advanced the ball 
five or taken it back twenty yards, it shall go to the 
opponents on spot of fourth. "Consecutive" means 
without leaving the hands of the side holding it, and 
by a kick giving opponents fair and equal chance of 
gaining possession of it. When the referee, or umpire, 
has given a side five yards, the following down shall 
be counted the first down. 

(b) The man who puts the ball in play in a scrim- 
mage cannot pick it up until it has touched some third 
man. " Third man " means any other player than the 
one putting the ball in play and the man opposite him. 



124 UNIVERSITY FOOT-BALL 



Rule 31. — If the ball goes into touch, whether it 
bounds back or not, a player on the side which touches 
it down must bring it to the spot where the line was 
crossed, and there either 

I. Bound the ball in the field of play, or touch it in 
with both hands, at right angles to the touch line, and 
then run with it, kick it, or throw it back ; or 

TI. Throw it out at right angles to the touch line ; 

or 

III. Walk out with it at right angles to touch line 
any distance not less than five nor more than fifteen 
yards, and there put it down, first declaring how far 
he intends walking. The man who puts the ball in 
must face field or opponents' goal, and he alone can 
have his foot outside touch line. Any one, except 
him, who puts his hands or feet between the ball and 
his opponents' goal is off side. If it be not thrown 
out at right angles, either side may claim it thrown 
over again, and if it fail to be put in play fairly in 
three trials, it shall go to the opponents. 

Rule 32. — A side which has made a touch-down in 
their opponents' goal must try at goal, either by a 
place-kick or a punt-out. If the goal be missed, the 
ball shall go as a kick-of£ at the centre of the field to 
the defenders of the goal. 

Rule 33. — (a) If the try be by a place-kick, a 
player of the side which has touched the ball down 
shall bring it up to the goal line, and making a mark 
opposite the spot where it was touched down, bring it 
out at right angles to the goal line such distance as he 
thinks proper, and there place it for another of his 



RULES AND CONSTITUTION 125 



side to kick. The opponents must remain behind 
their goal line until the ball has been placed on the 
ground. 

(b) The placer in a try-at-goal may be off-side or in 
touch without vitating the kick. 

Rule 34. — If the try be by a punt-out, the punter 
shall bring the ball up to the goal line, and making a 
mark opposite the spot where it was touched dow^n, 
punt-out from any spot behind line of goal and not 
nearer the goal post than such mark, to another of his 
side, who must all stand outside of goal line not less 
than fifteen feet. If the touch-down was made in 
touch-in-goal, the punt-out shall be made from the 
intersection of the goal and touch lines. The oppo- 
nents may line up anywhere on the goal line, except 
space of five feet on each side of punter's mark, but 
cannot interfere with punter, nor can he touch the ball 
after kicking it until it touch some other player. If a 
fair catch be made from a punt-out, the mark shall 
serve to determine positions as the mark of any fair 
catch. If a fair catch be not made on the first attempt, 
the ball shall be punted over again, and if a fair catch 
be not made on the second attempt, the ball shall go 
as a kick-of£ at the centre of the field to the defenders 
of the goal. 

Rule 35. — A side which has made a touch-back or 
a safety must kick out, except as otherwise provided 
(see Rule 32), from not more than twenty-five yards 
outside the kicker's goal. If the ball go into touch 
before striking a player, it must be kicked out again ; 
and if this occurs three tijnes in succession, it shall be 



126 UNIYEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



given to opponents as in touch on twenty-five-yard line 
on side where it went out. At kick-out opponents 
must be on twenty-five-yard line or nearer their own 
goaL 

EuLE 36. — The following shall be the value of each 
point in the scoring : — 

Goal obtained by touch-down, 6 

Goal from field-kick, 5 

Touch-down failing goal, 4 

Safety by opponents, 2 



CONSTITUTION 



AETICLE I. 

The name of this Association shall be the American 
Intercollegiate Foot-Ball Association. 

ARTICLE II. 

Section 1. This Association shall consist of Yale, 
Princeton, Wesleyan, and the University of Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Sec. 2. No college shall be admitted to membership 
except by an unanimous vote. 

Sec. 3. The annual assessment shall be $25 from 
each college, and out of the total sum $75 shall be 
expended for a Championship Pennant. 

Sec. 4. Any college failing to pay the annual assess- 
ment on or before December 1st of each year shall 
forfeit its membership in the Association. 

ARTICLE m. 

Section 1. The officers shall consist of a President, 
a Secretary, and a Treasurer. The Presidency shall be 
held by the college last holding the championship. 
The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected by ballot. 
The Secretary shall call meetings subject to the order 
127 



128 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



of the President, and shall preserve the minutes of the 
meetings in a book. 

Sec. 2. There shall be a graduate Advisory Com- 
mittee of four; one member being elected by the 
Alumni, or appointed by the Faculty of each of the 
colleges in the Association. 

Sec. 3. This Advisory Committee shall meet and 
propose the rules, or changes in the same, on the first 
Saturday in March in each year, and shall submit the 
said proposed rules or changes to the Secretary of the 
Intercollegiate Association on or before the first Satur- 
day in April, to be forthwith transmitted by him to the 
respective college Associations before the spring meet- 
ing of the Intercollegiate Association, to occur on the 
first Saturday in May. At that meeting the said pro- 
posed rules or changes shall be acted upon, and be 
returned by the Intercollegiate Association, with its 
approval or disapproval, to the Advisory Committee at 
its summer meeting, to occur on the day of the Inter- 
collegiate Track Athletic meeting in May. Those rules 
or changes approved shall forthwith take effect ; those 
disapproved shall go over for consideration until the 
following spring, unless they shall receive three votes 
in the Advisory Committee, in which case they shall 
immediately take effect. 

Sec. 4. Each of the four members of the Advisory 
Committee shall have a full vote. Any one may vote 
and act by representative with a written proxy. Three 
members of the committee shall constitute a quorum. 

Sec. 5. At the written request of any two members 
of the Advisory Committee or delegates .of the Inter- 
collegiate Association, the secretary of the committee 



BULES AND CONSTITUTION 129 



shall convene a meeting both of the Advisory Com- 
mittee and Intercollegiate Association, but the same 
shall be only on a five days' written notice to the vari- 
ous members and delegates, which notice must contain 
a statement of the object of the said meetings. The 
meetings of the present year shall be governed by this 
section. 

Sec. 6. There shall be an umpire and a referee. The 
referee shall judge for the ball, and the umpire for the 
player. No man shall act as an umpire w^ho is an 
alumnus of either of the competing colleges. The 
umpires shall be nominated and elected by the Advi- 
sory Committee. The referee shall be chosen by the 
two captains of the opposing teams in each game, 
except in case of disagreement, when the choice shall 
be referred to the Advisory Committee, whose decision 
shall be final. All referees and umpires shall be per- 
manently elected and assigned on or before the third 
Saturday in October of each year. 

Sec. 7. The Advisory Committee shall act as a 
Committee of Appeals, and shall hold its regular an- 
nual session on the third Saturday in October of each 
year, at which time it shall hear and finally determine 
any appeal, which must be in writing, from a decision 
or determination which substantially affects the inter- 
pretation or construction of any provision of the Con- 
stitution, or of the Rules of the Association, during 
the year preceding ; but this section shall not be con- 
strued as affecting any question of fact, the determina- 
tion of which rests in the discretion of the referee. 



130 UNIVEBSITY FOOT-BALL 



ARTICLE ly. 

Section 1. The series shall consist of one game 
with each college, and shall be played upon grounds 
mutually agreed upon. 

Sec. 2. The two leading colleges of the preceding 
year shall play in or near New York. 

Sec. 3. The Championship shall be decided by the 
greatest number of games won. In case of a tie in 
games won, the team losing the fewest games shall 
have the championship. 

Sec. 4. In case there is a tie for second place in the 
championship series, the record of the previous year 
shall determine which of the two colleges so tying 
shall play with the champions in New York, according 
to the provisions of Section 2 of this article. 

ARTICLE V. 

In all the championship games the net receipts shall 
be equally divided between the contesting colleges. 

ARTICLE YL 

Any team failing to meet its engagements shall, 
unless the failure be caused by unavoidable accident 
in travelling, or by postponement with the consent in 
writing of the other team, forfeit its membership. 
Any college failing to put a team in the field each 
year shall forfeit its membership. A certificate signed 
by three members of the Faculty shall be considered 
sufficient excuse for failure to play. 



BULES AND CONSTITUTION 131 



ARTICLE yil. 

There shall be two meetings of this Association, one 
to be held on the first Saturday in May, the other on 
the first Saturday in October. 

ARTICLE YIIL 

The printing of the Rules and Constitution shall be 
done by the Secretary of the Advisory Committee, and 
fifty copies shall be forwarded by the Secretary to 
each college of the Association free of charge. 

ARTICLE IX. 

1^0 man shall play more than five years in this 
Association. 

ARTICLE X. 

No professional athlete shall take part in any con- 
test of this Association, nor shall any player of any 
university or college be paid or receive, directly or 
indirectly, any money or financial concession or emolu- 
ment as present or past compensation for, or as prior 
consideration or inducement to playing, whether the 
same be received from, or paid by, or at the instance 
of the Foot-Ball Association, athletic committee or 
faculty of such university or college, or any individual 
whatsoever. And any player who is specifically 
challenged under this section by any member of the 
Association in writing, shall, within five days after 
the filing of such challenge with the secretary, file 



132 UNIVJEBSITY FOOT-BALL 

with the secretary of the committee an affidavit, duly 
verified under oath, showing that he in no way violates 
the provisions of this section, and upon his failure to 
make and file such affidavit he shall be barred from 
participating in any contest with the members of this 
Association. And in case the sufiiciency of such affi- 
davit be questioned by the challenging party, and the 
Committee of Appeals be notified thereof, the player 
challenged shall submit to oral examination on two 
days' notice by said challenging party before said com- 
mittee, who shall then and thereafter decide regarding 
the eligibility of said challenged player to take part 
in contests of members of the Association. The date 
of such examination shall not be set on the day of nor 
within forty-eight hours of a championship game, 
^^o challenge or protest shall in any way affect a game 
which has been played previous to the filing of such 
challenge or protest. Furthermore, no one shall be 
eligible to take part as a player in any championship 
games of this Association who is not a bona fide student 
of the college on whose team he plays, matriculated, 
for the then current college year, and regularly pur- 
suing a course which requires his attendance upon at 
least five lectures or recitations a week ; and in case 
a player's qualifications are questioned, he shall furnish 
to the Advisory Committee a certificate, signed by 
three members of the Faculty, stating that he is a 
bona fide student, matriculated for the then current 
college year, and regularly pursuing a course which 
requires his attendance upon at least five lectures or 
recitations a week ; and the player shall further furnish 
to the Advisory Committee an affidavit stating that 



RULES AND CONSTITUTION 133 



he is a bona fide student of the college in whose team 
he plays, matriculated for the then current college 
year, and regularly pursuing a course which requires 
his attendance upon at least five recitations and lectures 
a week, and that it is his intention to continue in said 
course until the expiration of the then current college 
year. 

ARTICLE XI. 

A majority vote shall be necessary to pass any vote 
and a two-thirds vote to amend this Constitution. 



J. S. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith. 
Boston, Mass., U.S.A. 



H285 83 



I 



